WEBVTT - Cash Debit or Credit: Which is best? 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.840 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:07.560 It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff You Should Know 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:16.400 from House Stuff Works dot Com. Hey, and welcome to 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:20.919 the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant. Uh, 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:26.720 and we are coming at you the Stuff you Should Know. Yeah, 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:29.600 this is a public service edition. We do a few 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:32.360 of these every now and then. Yeah, we want to 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:35.760 make sure that you consumers out there are well taken 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.080 care of, and we feel like we're the guys to 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.159 do it, us and Clark Howard at least right now. Actually, 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:43.839 I want to go ahead and issue a c o 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:47.760 A that you mean demanded I issue. Uh. I am 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:51.599 in no way, shape or form qualified to give anyone 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:56.800 financial advice of any type whatsoever because you don't understand 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.120 it or you're just not good with I'm I just 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.240 I don't know enough about it. I'm just a caveman. 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:07.240 Your were frightens and confuses me. But this is pretty 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:11.760 straight up cash credit or debit. Plus there's also the 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.680 the the clincher at the end where I say, hey, man, 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.080 do what you want. Well, that's true, So there you go. 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:20.440 At the Yeah, spoiler. At the end of the day, 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.480 It's depends on the context. Sometimes cash is great, sometimes 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:26.840 credits great. Sometimes debit's great. Although I went back and 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:31.160 read this and I'm like, I clearly favor personally debit cards. 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.200 I just think they're better. Yeah, but we'll we'll get 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:39.080 into this. Let me I have an actual news topic 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:43.440 intro this time. So there is a lady named Lorie Black. 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:48.400 She's thirty two. She lives in Auburn, Massachusetts. Okay, I 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:51.440 don't know where that is. Plbert Hodgman does. Yeah. Probably 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:55.120 as a matter of fact, let's bring him in to answer, John, 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:59.520 come on in, have a seat. Not so, No, he's 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:02.760 not here. Okay, Well, anyway, we'll find out some other time. 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.480 Where Auburn, Massachusetts, half of already has just went sweet 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:09.919 and half of them went no. Um. Lori Black is 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:13.840 a thirty two year old unemployed or out of work 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:18.720 preschool teacher from Auburn, Massachusetts, and she also has the 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:24.280 unlikely credit of having fifteen black Fridays under a belt. 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.639 That's where the blimp attacks is Super Bowl. She's got 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.880 fifteen of those under her belt, and her whole thing 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:35.760 is that she can't afford to do this herself. But 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:38.119 she is such a junkie for this kind of thing 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.000 that she's come up with a great way to get 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:43.000 in the game, get in the Black Friday game and 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:47.080 not break her record, um and make a little bit 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.440 of cash. And that is to be a Black Friday mercenary. 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:52.600 So hold on, let me get this straight. You're saying 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:57.480 that she has attended that many like Walmart openings or whatever. 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:01.040 You're not openings, but the shopping experience, the kind where 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:06.240 like she's the kind where you camp outside and and 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:07.920 I thought about this, I'm like, well, I mean a 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:09.520 lot of people like to do that. And I didn't 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.800 realize in this This article from um daily Finance dot 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:16.639 com points out that she lives in Massachusetts, and when 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:20.079 Black Friday comes around in Massachusetts, you are for freason 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.080 if you're camping outside waiting for a store to open. 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.280 So what she's saying is like, I'll go stand in 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:27.519 for you. I will go through the elbows, I will 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:30.839 go I will bring my stiletto, and um, I will 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:32.840 get you those deals that you want. You stay at 0:03:32.840 --> 0:03:35.880 home and stay toasty. And she's also figured out that 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:40.119 nursing home patients who love Black Friday deals. Um will 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:44.680 probably be her biggest clientele. You stay in bed shut ends. No, 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:47.360 she's not praying on shut and she's offering a valuable 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.800 service for of the total value of the purchases she 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:55.040 makes for your stuff. Even yeah, I thought she just 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:58.840 held and she goes shopping for you. She does everything. 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:02.200 She's by Friday mercenary. So if you want to hire 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:05.680 Lori Black, you can find a Craigslist add that she posted. 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:08.960 I guess look for first, go to Google maps or 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:13.360 Yahoo Maps or whoever maps and look up Auburn, Massachusetts 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.840 and find the closest big city, and then go to 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.080 Craigslist and go to that big cities. I don't know 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:22.159 what posting, but you'll find it. I'm kind of curious 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:24.400 about does she take on more than one person? I 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:27.160 wonder is there a guarantee of how much they need 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:28.800 to spend? Because if she's doing all this for a 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.359 hundred bucks, then no, I don't think she'd do it 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:33.960 for a hundred bucks, although she may be such a 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.880 lover of Black Friday that hey might as well. So 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:38.919 she's crazy, is what you're saying. I think she's a 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.800 she's an eccentric person, but not really crazy. I'm sure 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:46.720 she's very nice. Fifteen Black Friday sixteen. Here's pulling for 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:50.640 Lorie Black to make that to to keep her streak unbroken. 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.440 You're rooting for Yeah. So my big question is is 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:57.520 if you're Lorie Black and you are using your own 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:01.160 money that people are going to pay you for in return, 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:03.440 what's the best thing you can use while you are 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:09.599 standing outside of Black Friday Target midnight. Well that depends, 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:13.720 so let's get into it. Uh, there are advantages to each, 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:17.080 their disadvantages to each, Josh, and we'll go over those 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:23.840 right now. Cash is anonymous. Yeah, if we're a drug dealer, Yeah, 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.360 some people like the fact that you're not. Your purchases 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:30.240 aren't being tracked if you use cash. Um. In my family, 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:34.599 we like that our purchases are tracked because then you 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:36.440 can look at your budget each month and say, this 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:38.440 is where we're spending this, this is where we're spending this. 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:40.839 You can still do that with cash, but that means 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:42.720 you have to be You gotta keep up with all 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:46.760 that stuff yourself instead of having your bank account program 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:51.600 doing it for you. It's true. Um. There's also there's 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:55.920 also a proof of ownership that cash in no way, 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:59.239 shape or form has That's right, Remember and die hard 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.680 with the German terrorists, where after was um unmarked bearer 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:09.200 bonds same as cash. They weren't terrorists, they were common thieves. No, 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:12.800 they were exceptional thieves. Right, that's exactly right in the 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:16.600 Nakatomy building which is in Century City. So yeah, if 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.479 your cast is gone, your cast is gone. Right, proof 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.600 of ownership your your face sometimes is on the credit card, 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.560 your names on the credit card. You've signed the credit 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.719 card and debit card. They ask you to show proof 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:30.479 of I D. Many times. Yes, you don't have to 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:33.320 sign the credit card. By the way, is that right? Um? 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:35.800 You if you sign it and you give somebody your 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:37.720 credit card, you can be like you and I both 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:39.159 know that I don't have to show you a photo 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:40.880 I D. If my signature is on the back, if 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.320 I've endorsed this credit card, that's good enough by law. Pal. 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:48.760 But I never signed the back of my credit I 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:52.800 put C I D in sharpie, not the letter C, 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.440 the words C S E E I D. And do 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.279 they do that most of the time. It's definitely picked up. 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.359 Since the risk question started, I've noticed people did not 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:04.640 do it. And now they do, and every time they do, 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:07.520 I go, thank you for asking. Well, Plus it's ridiculous 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:09.800 because you go to sign that stupid little thing with 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:13.720 a ballpoint pin. It looks nothing like your signature because 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:15.560 you're trying to squeeze it in on this little slippery, 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:21.240 smudgy smudgy. And then the other thing, though, is signatures 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.800 these days are usually I guess at a restaurant, you 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:26.760 still sign a thing, but a lot of times now 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.840 you're signing that stupid Jeopardy pad. So I don't even 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:33.240 sign my name anymore. I just scratch something, yeah, because 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:34.880 I mean, I can't sign my name. It looks like 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:38.640 I'm like three years old. Yeah. My my signature is 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:42.240 sometimes good, sometimes not. But the point is, if you 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:45.400 sign the back of it right, somebody can practice what 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:47.960 it looks like on the bat, make that signatures to 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.040 feel like just compared to signatures. That's what it's there for. 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.800 But Josh, you are protected nonetheless under the Fair Credit 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:59.080 Building Act. If you lose your credit card, you only 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.880 have to pay for up to fifty worth of the fraud. Yes, uh, 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.240 if you lose or get your debit cards stolen, the 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:11.080 Electronic Fund Transfer Act covers you same deal fifty bucks 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:14.200 as long as you report it stolen within two days 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.200 of noticing it was noticing it was gone, and then 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.080 it jumps up to five bucks that you're liable for. 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:21.600 It's not like they say, well, you gotta pay for 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:26.280 everything and thank you big government for that. Yeah seriously, Well, 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.920 I mean that's one time it works. Yeah, well there's 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:32.320 there's another time. We'll get to it. Okay. Um, so 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:36.680 you've got you have anonymity with cash, but you have 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:40.359 a lack of security. Yes, you have security with plastic, 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:44.480 both debit and credit, but you don't have any anonymity. 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.760 They whoever they are, they can track your purchases. They 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:51.960 definitely can, and they is usually law enforcement. And I 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:55.200 guess if you if you go to the security UH 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:59.760 aspect of it. Credit cards and debit cards, Um, well, 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.920 debit cards have a leg up over credit cards because 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:07.040 of your pen which is like it's like a signature 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.960 in numbers that only you know or only you should know, 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:14.280 and so they probably don't even ask to see your 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.120 card if you use your debit card and you enter 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.840 your PIN number, because they just assume that's you. You 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.480 know your pin, you're not gonna steal a wallet and 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:24.840 just get the debit card right the first time out, 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.400 so they do you have it? But I have a question, 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.240 and maybe someone knows this, why don't credit cards have pens? Now? 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.600 I don't know that. I wonder why it would seem 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:40.400 to be just one extra added layer. You're swiping it 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.439 just like a debit card. So I don't know. I'm 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.719 wondering that I have no idea, right, maybe somebody knows 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:50.080 out there in the finance world. Uh. Cash and debit 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:55.520 have the other advantages advantage which is a lack of fees. 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.000 When you buy someone with the credit card, unless it's 0:09:58.000 --> 0:09:59.880 an American Express, which have to pay off each month, 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:04.719 you are charged financing fees. And if you take a 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:06.560 hit and your light on your bills, those fees are 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:11.520 going to increase and increase to ungodly levels at times, 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:16.120 you know percent you might be paying well. The average 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:19.559 interest rate as of this week in the United States 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:25.040 for credit card is fourteen that's this week. That is 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:30.760 so much money. Um. The average debt that Americans with 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:34.240 credit cards carry is sixteen thousand, six d and thirty five. 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:37.160 That's not home debt. But it's not just credit card debt. 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:42.440 The credit average credit card debt is between right now 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:46.079 in the United States, for credit card holders, that's their 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:49.040 credit average credit card debt. So yeah, man, if you 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:51.520 get bumped up a few points, you're gonna feel it. 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.439 And especially if you're just making minimum payments and then 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.400 going out and buying more stuff and paying just a 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:00.680 little bit off but you're adding more to it. Well, 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:02.840 it's not very hard to do the math. You might 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.800 as well put your own caller on. And if you're 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:11.080 young and fairly naive about finance, you know what a 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.680 minimum payment is. That means you're just paying the finance charges. 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.120 Well you say that if you're young, But get this. 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:20.760 I saw a stat that showed that most credit card 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:26.240 holders were wait of credit card holders under like age 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:30.640 thirty pay off their monthly balance, which is more than 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:35.080 the adults. So you got to leave it to the kids. 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:39.640 You do something right this time for once in your life. 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:42.800 Do you know what we what kind of balance we 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:48.520 carry zip? Really that's pretty great. We didn't used to, 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:50.320 but we got to a point where we were looking 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:53.880 at finance charges and we just couldn't live like that anymore. 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:56.240 It's great. So every month you paid off. We use 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.839 American Express only because we get the sky mileage you 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:03.400 for everything we buy that you know where they don't 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:05.720 demand that you use like a debit card, and we 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.200 pay it off each month. That's great. It is. It's 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.760 a good way to live because when you start looking 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:13.559 at the finance fees that you're paying, like at the 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.160 end of the year, it's depressing. Like I used to 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.000 when I was single and living alone, I used to 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:20.880 just ignore that. Well, I think that's what a lot 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:25.719 of people doing, that's what they want. Um, you want 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:28.079 some more stats, Yeah, I got a lot of stets too, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.920 but go ahead, okay, Um, the average American consumer, Chuck, 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.240 has three point five credit cards. I don't know how 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:39.400 you have half of credit card, but three point five 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:41.800 credit cards. It seems like a lot to me. If 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.480 you live in New Hampshire, New Jersey, Josh, of the 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.600 people in that state have ten or more credit cards 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:52.880 and those two and that nuts. That is very nuts. Alright, 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.840 a kind of alright of Americans have a credit card 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.320 have a debit card. That is a lot of people 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:03.520 that have a credit card and a debit card. Okay, 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:07.040 about people do not have a credit card? At all, 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.240 and of people they have to make pay it off 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:14.920 every month. And listen to this. The average consumer's oldest 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:19.760 obligation is fourteen years old. So that means obligation means 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.640 you've got something sitting on there from fourteen years ago. 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:25.360 I thought they had to stop reporting after seven years. 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.160 Well no, I mean if it's on your oh like 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:31.960 credit like stuff you bought that you're still paying off. 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.599 It is up to fourteen years old for the average person. Yeah, 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.640 the average oldest obligation. So that trip to Europe you 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:42.320 took in nineteen whatever, fifteen years ago, you might still 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:48.520 be paying off. That's crazy there, consumer, And that's when 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.280 I was in Europe. Actually, consumer debt December thirty one, 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:58.800 two thousand ten, all consumer debt in America, I can 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:03.600 almost I Alan can't say it. Eleven point four trillion dollars. 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.040 That's how much America owes. That's how much the American 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.720 people owe, not the government, that's how much the just 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:17.120 the regular old Joe's though. All right, So that was that, Yeah, 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:18.880 it was, But these are good stats. People need to 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.440 know the stag Are you going with stats? Still? Uh? No, 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:23.560 I'm done? All right, So where are we let's let's 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:27.400 recap here. Cash is good, but you lose it easy, right, 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.320 and if you lose it or its stolen it, you're 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:32.680 almost That's what I meant to say, likely to not 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.720 get it back, not that you lose it easy. Um. 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:39.800 Debit cards are good because they offer protection from the 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.080 federal government. They got a pin, you gotta pin. Credit 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:46.520 cards offer the same protection. They don't have a pin, right. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:51.280 They charge fees, interest financing fees, yes, and sometimes membership fees, 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.920 and debit cards now again have a higher leg up 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.480 as it stands. Right. The second against credit cards because 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.360 the were draft fees that used to just kill people 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:07.760 are now illegal unless you opt in. Oh yeah, they 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:11.360 remember there was the Card Act, so as of I 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:15.680 think August two, you had to officially opt in with 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:19.720 your bank to say I want overdraft protection and therefore 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:23.720 you can charge me over draft fees. Sure, which at 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:26.320 one point in my life I loved overdraft protection because 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:28.760 I was right and check my butt get in cash, 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.840 and I didn't mind paying those fees. Oh dude, those 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.960 fees are crippling. Yeah, But if you know, if you 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.040 were me in nineteen in the mid nineties, you like 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:40.200 those fees, I got you because you could just stay afloat, 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.080 and that's what it was all about for me back then. 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:48.400 Or you could just you know, do your finances correctly true, 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:50.960 which I did not do. Or and I remember back 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:54.080 of America got in trouble for this. They always did. 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:58.680 They always posted from the largest amount the smallest amount, 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.520 under the idea that your smallest amount, there were more 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:06.280 of your smallest amounts, so that when they started hitting 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:11.000 you could get more and more overdraft fees. Right, the largest, 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.720 the smallest or smallest the largest, whichever way you get 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:15.760 hit with the more overdraft fees. That's the way that 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:19.480 they always post. We could screen the most. Yeah, without 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:24.680 any regard to chronology whatsoever. It was. However, however, many 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.320 overdraft fees. They got in trouble for that and correct 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.440 and corrected it. Yes, that's what led to this correction. 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:34.960 That is UH debit cards are generally fee free. Your 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:39.600 bank most likely has as a fee free debit card. Um, 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:41.240 if you're getting cash out of the a t M 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:42.880 at your own bank, you're probably not gonna be paying 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:45.240 any fees there. So that's always nice to save on 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.920 your fees. Unless well, that was another Bank of America thing. 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.920 Remember very recently they said they were going to charge 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.960 five bucks to use their debit cards five bucks a month, 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:57.640 and Occupy Wall Street was like what and they rolled 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:00.200 that back to they did. Apparently a bunch of other 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:02.920 banks rolled it back except Wells Fargo still has it 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.200 outstanding there they're apparently going to go ahead with their 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:11.359 five dollar fee. So interstand another point that we should consider, Josh. 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:15.480 If you have a problem, if you have a shopping problem, 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:20.160 then cash is your best friend. Because there's, uh, there's 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.119 a thing and they even called it the pain of paying, 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.240 which is when you take cash out of your wallet 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:28.359 or purse, pocketbook and hand it to somebody. It's a 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.320 very visceral, real feeling that you see the money leave 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.399 your hand and go to someone else and it's gone forever. 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:36.200 Obviously debit and credit cards that it just exists in 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:39.439 the ether. You may get paid electronically, you may and 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:41.960 you could live your life without seeing a single dollar 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:45.359 bill very easily these days, pay your bills remotely, don't 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.320 have to write checks. You can do it all on 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.320 the on the internet now, So that makes it pretty 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.280 easy for a shopoholic to rack up some debt without 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:56.760 realizing it or not, Yeah, without realizing it. Right, it 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:02.919 takes away it makes money less transparent. Um like Social Security. Uh, 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:06.520 there's no longer social Security checks. It's all electronic, which 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:07.919 I don't think it's a scam. I think it's a 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.600 money saving effort because people would move in with their 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.600 old neighbor and check their mail every day, right right, 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:18.000 you know who did that? Or just check their mail 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:21.879 every day, not even moving. Um, there's a there's a 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:25.160 whole there's a school of thought which is pretty rational 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:27.600 and reasonable that there's not gonna be paper money that 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:30.520 much longer because of stuff like that, big sweeping moves 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:34.320 like this. Um, I don't know if about that. Well, 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:38.160 there's paper money. Paper dollars are under assault right now. 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:41.000 You remember the super Committee with the deficit reduction plan 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:45.119 that their tax was coming up with. They have suggested 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.480 phasing out dollar bills entirely and replacing them with dollar coins, 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:54.480 right Okay, and um I beat down on that. Well, 0:18:54.520 --> 0:18:58.080 it would save like fivety six billion dollars over thirty 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:02.080 years and dropping the bucket, like, what's the savings coming? Printing? 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:05.560 So it costs more to print a dollar coin than 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:08.320 it does to print a dollar bill, but dollar coins 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.919 um average circulation life is three times longer, so ultimately 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:14.920 it costs less over the thirty years of the dollar 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:17.760 coins lifespan. The coin is more hardy. Yes, but you're 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.439 gonna run into a company called the Crane and Co 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:24.080 out of Massachusetts who has a friend named John Kerry 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:26.800 who's on the super committee. And Craning Company are the 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:29.760 ones who make the special paper four dollar bills, and 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.639 they're like, no, no no, no, we can't write this. So 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:35.840 you're always going to run into those guys. Another final 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:40.680 um nod to to credit cards is uh, like I mentioned, 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.439 I get sky miles on my m X Delta. So 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.320 a lot of these programs offer rewards, whether it's towards 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:50.399 sky miles or vacation points, hotel points, cash back. I 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:52.719 think Discover actually write to check every year, don't they? 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:55.880 As far as you know, still do that. And uh, 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:58.160 you're not gonna get that with the debit card or cash, 0:19:58.240 --> 0:20:02.040 so that's important to you. Um. There was also one 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:04.000 that I left out. I left that out of this article, 0:20:04.000 --> 0:20:08.840 but I also left out did you generally, whether you 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:11.359 like it or not? I was wondering why you're making 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:13.960 such fun of it. To me, You're like, I'm sitting 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:16.439 right here, um whether you whether you like it or not, 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:19.320 it's pretty It's a reality of this moment in history 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:23.159 that you need a credit history of some sort to 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:27.520 get a car or house or do any large purchase, 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:30.399 and you can't build one with a debit card or 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:36.000 with cash. So if you can responsibly use a credit card, uh, 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:38.800 you can generate a credit history. And that is a 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:42.520 huge advantage that a credit card gives you over anything else. 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:44.560 And I also wanted to say, I think it kind 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:47.520 of slipped by. I'm not saying that the onus is 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:51.880 is completely on banks to not um rape and pillage. 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:55.280 I think that the onus is on the individual consumer 0:20:55.320 --> 0:20:58.800 as well to keep your checkbook balanced and do not 0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:01.560 rely on overdraft the to you know, really take a 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:04.159 look at where your money is going, basically to be 0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:11.000 like Chuck is now you know, actually Chuck's wife is it? 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:13.720 This was a great article. I was just kidding around 0:21:13.720 --> 0:21:16.640 about the I don't say it now. No, it's good. 0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:19.040 Don't say no. I think you you spell out all 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:21.879 the points very definitely. And one more time, is it 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:24.720 non to Humi? I think you should go out and 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:29.359 um find out for yourself, being a responsible consumer, what 0:21:29.520 --> 0:21:34.080 works best for you cash or credit. Plus, you know, 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:36.880 it's still sometimes nice too, and it's nice to throw 0:21:36.920 --> 0:21:39.800 down the Amex gold to pay for dinner for your friends. 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:42.840 But it's also nice to you know, have the big 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:46.119 bank roll in your pocket and and tell your friends 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:49.320 to go rot. Well know, you can pay in cash 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:51.840 and look like a like a big spender. Oh yeah, 0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:56.800 I see what you're saying. You know, like if spending ok, 0:21:56.960 --> 0:21:59.679 oh yeah, you can't do that. You the cash is 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:03.000 like if you pull that out, you're a walking target. 0:22:03.400 --> 0:22:06.320 You make it rain? You gonna if you do that 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:09.679 kind of thing. Yeah, I can't make it rain with 0:22:09.720 --> 0:22:13.159 a credit card, you know. You know, there's throw it 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:14.520 up in the air and it comes right back to 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:17.120 have a bad idea either way cash, credit or debit. 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:20.600 There here's the ending. Making it rain in any way, 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:23.159 shape or form, with any kind of form of payment, 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:25.600 it's a it's a bad waste of money. Only God 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:27.920 can make your rain. Uh. If you want to learn 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:33.120 more about um the hydrological cycle, or whether it's best 0:22:33.200 --> 0:22:36.200 play pay with cash, credit, or debit, you can type 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:38.720 those words into the search bart how stuff works dot 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:43.080 com and that'll bring up some good stuff. And I said, 0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:48.040 search bar. So it's time for listening round, Josh, I'm 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:51.680 gonna call this a freaky email. Hi, guys, my mom 0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:54.040