4 ms·

Debit cards is more common in quite a few places. My impression has always been that paying everything with a credit card is a U.S. thing. Here in Finland, It'

Debit cards is more common in quite a few places. My impression has always been that paying everything with a credit card is a U.S. thing. Here in Finland, It's not uncommon to have no debt apart from the mortage on one's home.

hervature 5y ago
Mortgages are 70% of debt in the US. It is like saying I got perfect on a test except for the 70% I got wrong.
- xmodem 5y ago
  Not really. Mortgages are secured against the property, and attract low interest rates compared to unsecured debt like a credit card.
- scbrg 5y ago
  That's interesting. Mortgages are 100% of my debt, and the debt of most everyone I know. Which I guess was the point GP tried to make.
oriolid 5y ago
Finland doesn't have credit score system, so there's no reason to not pay not pay the credit card bill immediately. There is certain push towards credit cards, though. As far as I remember my bank would charge a yearly fee for debit card, but credit card is free for me.
philsnow 5y ago
For what it's worth, I have paid for nearly everything I possibly could with credit cards for decades, and I haven't paid a cent in credit card finance charges in at least 15 years (since my fiancee straightened me out and helped me see that I was being dumb about debt). I have them set to auto-pay the entire balance every pay period. I use them because consumer protections with other methods aren't as good here in the States. Paying with a credit card, if I have an issue with a vendor, after a good faith effort on my part to resolve the issue, I can just ask the credit card company to deal with it. (I don't abuse this, but I don't doubt there are people who do.) There are better and worse credit card companies for this. American Express has great customer service but they aren't accepted in as many places.

4 ms·

Debit cards is more common in quite a few places. My impression has always been that paying everything with a credit card is a U.S. thing. Here in Finland, It'

by fogihujy 5y ago

hervature 5y ago
Mortgages are 70% of debt in the US. It is like saying I got perfect on a test except for the 70% I got wrong.
- xmodem 5y ago
  Not really. Mortgages are secured against the property, and attract low interest rates compared to unsecured debt like a credit card.
- scbrg 5y ago
  That's interesting. Mortgages are 100% of my debt, and the debt of most everyone I know. Which I guess was the point GP tried to make.
oriolid 5y ago
Finland doesn't have credit score system, so there's no reason to not pay not pay the credit card bill immediately. There is certain push towards credit cards, though. As far as I remember my bank would charge a yearly fee for debit card, but credit card is free for me.
philsnow 5y ago
For what it's worth, I have paid for nearly everything I possibly could with credit cards for decades, and I haven't paid a cent in credit card finance charges in at least 15 years (since my fiancee straightened me out and helped me see that I was being dumb about debt). I have them set to auto-pay the entire balance every pay period. I use them because consumer protections with other methods aren't as good here in the States. Paying with a credit card, if I have an issue with a vendor, after a good faith effort on my part to resolve the issue, I can just ask the credit card company to deal with it. (I don't abuse this, but I don't doubt there are people who do.) There are better and worse credit card companies for this. American Express has great customer service but they aren't accepted in as many places.