My wife and I use our credit cards for nearly all of our puchases, and we pay off our balances at the end of the month. We have earned enough airline miles to travel round-trip to Europe with enough left over for a domestic flight here in the U.S.  My brother had a Subaru card and they would send him $100 gift certificates good for anything Subaru related; he rarely paid for repairs to his car out of pocket.

In addition, you get lots of protection when you use your credit card. If a store gives me a hard time with a return, all I have to say is "I'm calling my credit card company", and that usually does the trick. They know it's not worth their time or money to fight with them. Let the people who pay cash try that. I don't see the point in using cash when you're not getting anything other than the item you are purchasing.

To all here who save hundreds or thousands of dollars in change before cashing it in, think of all of the interest you are losing having a substantial amount of money sitting on your dresser. If they money was in a bank account and you didn't need it right away, you could put in a CD and earn some money.

Regardless of one's self-control, etc, CASH is the EASIEST -- like all things in life, there are trade-offs, however, time is so limited for even the elderly in our culture, I prefer to not spend any of my "fee" time trying to balance statements, make payments to extra businesses <credit cards>, etc.   I am a cashier in retail.   If a customer purchases in cash, they get their refund in cash, IMMEDIATELY -- if they write a check, they have to wait 10 days, then receive a cash refund.  If they use plastic, it is immediately processed at my register, but each card company and bank has a different amount of time, before the refund is credited to their account -- in other words, their refund is not immediate, as it is with a cash purchase.   I just love the freedom of not having to spend time sorting through multiple statements, making sure that charges, refunds, etrc are accurate -- not having to balance check/debit statements and all the other time-consuming necessities of check/debit accounts -- so I use cash.   And I never have to worry about forgetting entries, etc and getting over the limit fees or bounced check/short debit charges.  Also, according to several of my customers this month, apparantly, many banks are now charging fees EACH time a debit purchase is made -- I guess that's their way of punishing people for not using credit; when people use debit instead of credit, the bank can't collect interest, so they've come up with yet another "bankster" racket -- charging for EACH and every debit card use !!!   I NEVER, EVER, get charged extra by my bank for using my cash   :)    Cash isn't perfect, but I prefer to keep as much of MY t ime and money for myself, rather than give it to bankers -- I spent 30 yrs raising 6 kids, and my office skills have been antiquated, so I am starting over again, at over 50 yrs of age.  That means, I make MINIMUM wage.   I don't make much money, so I prefer to keep it to myself rather than give it away to bankers.  One more point -- in times of natural disasters, cash is the only things which typically works -- until banks recover from the disaster.   Katrina brought home that message, even the well to do, had no means of paying until accounts could be found.  Disasters destroy jobs/businesses and temporariily, sometimes permanently, "erase" bank account information.  Those who have cash, can still make purchases.

im still a teen and learned to use a combination of both but i find it more convenient to use my debit card for all purchases b/c each transaction is on my monthly bank statement i can see how much i spent on gas/fast food/ bills/etc. i also bought a 3column ledger 4rm office depot and i use that as my checkbook. i tried to use a credit card for all my expenses and pay it off monthly to build credit twice( with the cc company and also with the bills i pay) but i didnt work out b/c i bought something for a friend thats in the army in iraq and didnt recieve payment for it until a month after so i decided to get back to using just my debit card b/c cash is withdrawn from my account as soon as the transaction is complete until i pay everything off and start from scratch. and this time im going to budget how much i can put on a card a month to keep up my lifestyle nd save $$

I love cash and I carry credit cards but use them only if I have to or if BOTH the wife and I disscuss it. I save my cash and that's what I spend on toys.

I don't like being tracked, insurence company's are seeing what you eat, what you buy and before to long your rates will be "adjusted".

Big brother is watching! I'm not paranoid, just paying attention.

There is no free lunch!!!!! Folks who use their credit cards to accumulate frequent flyer miles, cash back, etc. are actually paying more for the goods and services they purchase. Look, the card services charge the vendor, the vendor charges the customer, the card service grants the customer a PORTION back and keeps the rest!!Well it's probably only pennies anyway you say.

Please consider this, the transfer fee generted by credit card fuel purchases amounts to just shy of $5,000,000 per day, yup, per day!!! Since this fee is based on the gross amount, the guy who buys $50 worth of gas pays TEN TIMES as much for the transaction as the guy who buys $5 worth. Does anyone with a brain actually think the $50 purchase costs TEN TIMES as much to process as the $5 one? Since it"s all electronic anyway, I would challange any math person to even break out the cost difference.

Well I pay cash anyway you say, hmmm, when was the last time you saw a cash button on the pump? You're paying the fee to the credit card provider even when you pay cash, it"s built into the price! Like my buddy says, "Such A Deal I Give You".

Look around !! Did you happen to notice that over 180,000 gas stations have evaporated in the last decade or so? Can you not see with your own eyes what havoc credit card fees have done to small businesses and consumers across our land?

Well I'm getting the convience you say, good, I hope you can find a convient spot to watch the Sheriff auction off your  home!!  

Reward Cards are a blessing in disguise as long as you use disgression and stay within your financial budget. Be and adult and control your impulse spending dont pass the buck! If you pay off your credit card every month the rewards points can really add up. So why deal with the hassle of cash or checks when you can have the saftey and conveience of plastic? I think its time for the consumer to start benefiting from their speding by earning rewards back into their pocks and cutting down on your banks profit margin!

I think you misunderstood the part about cash is hard to split.  As a college student, going out to dinner with a group of friends is quite common and someone will rarely pick up the whole bill.  Also, restaurants do not split bills at tables.  Try going out to dinner with eight people who only have $20 bills and split the check because ATM's only give you twenties.

What is wrong with everyone? Before you purchase something, ask yourself, do I want it or do I need it?? If you are in debt, just get what you need. Most things that you want are just things and will be forgotten soon. It makes no difference if you use cash or credit card if you just think before you purchase. Perhaps it would be better not to carry cash or credit card if you can't control you spending, or just take enough cash to get what you are after. After you get in the habit of thinking before you purchase you can carry all the cash and credit cards you want. I walk around with over $1000 cash and 2 or 3 credit cards, I will still have $900 cash at the end of the month, pay your credit cads in full every month. If you can't pay in full then stop buying so much. You can not get ahead by staying behind.You must live within your means. Then most important PAY YOURSELF FIRST. It makes no difference if it is $20 week or $200 a week, just do it. Good spending is just like anything else, it takes time to create good habits but once you do you will have them for ever.

So in summary....PAY YOURSELF FIRST and before you buy something ask yourself DO I NEED IT OR DO I WANT IT.  

Who will know in 5 yrs if you bought that coke for of cup of coffee for $2-5 or if you bought that fancy  item for $50-100. Your bank account will show it in 5 yrs if you don't. Think about it!!!!

I find that using a debit card is too easy to spend money. Since we have gone back to checks and cash, we have more money in the bank than we have had in a long time.  I have gone back to using the checkbook when I can and the debit when checks are not accepted. Those slips the give you still have to be entered somewhere to balance your checkbook, and by the end of the week,  the wallet is FULL  of them! 2 per week is better than 20 when the statement comes.