Debit and Credit Cards are not Identical Twins
by astanhaus
Can I pay for this now or later?
(click on the bold-faced vocab words:))
The answer for any purchase should always be NOW! Coulda, woulda, shoulda…
So what purchases should I put on what card? The cards are basically twins. Plastic, lots of numbers, my name, magnetic stripe etc.
When I purchase with debit, the bank takes my money at the time of purchase.
When I purchase with credit, the credit card company spots me and I have to pay them back. If not on time, then purchase price + interest.
I try to favor the former fraternal twin.
(Originally published on Amanda Stanhaus’s financial literacy blog: XO, Bettie.)
