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.

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(Originally published on Amanda Stanhaus’s financial literacy blog: XO, Bettie.)