3 ms·

How exactly does “we can manage our finances” follow from picking debit over credit?

• ben_w 3mo ago
  Can't go into debt if you don't have a line of credit.
  • greyface- 3mo ago
    If one is capable of managing one's finances (and paying the card off in full every month), credit cards are a useful tool. They're a problem if one can't manage one's finances.
    • hkpack 3mo ago
      It is interesting that both options of either not using CC entirely or using CC but paying it off by the end of the month are equivalent, but you’ve somehow reframe the second ine as some virtuous skill one have to master (I’m not just buying bread, I’m also managing my finances by repaying the value of it in full by the end of the month to avoid being charged for interest and simultaneously improving my credit score). Business model of banks in regard to CC are preying on people not paying it all in full for various reasons.
      • greyface- 3mo ago
        Financially, they're not equivalent. If you buy your bread on credit, you get an interest-free loan, and benefit from the time value of the money that you otherwise would have paid immediately. As you correctly point out, this value comes from those fleeced by the arrangement. If my comment attributed any moral valence to the two options, that was unintentional.
        • kevin_thibedeau 3mo ago
          That only works if you keep less money than your monthly spend in high interest accounts. I always have a cushion on the account linked to the card. The only benefit of credit in the US is rewards cards that transfer wealth from those with poor discipline and financial illiteracy.