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Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

The Biggest Reason to Always Pay with a Credit Card

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Reason to Always Pay with a Credit Card

Some financial advisors and gurus urge all of their audience to use cash only. They argue if you use cash, you can’t overspend. Further, they say you’re also more conscious of your spending when you use cash. While these arguments may be true for some credit card users, they’re not for all. Many people can use credit cards and stay within their budgets. In addition, paying with credit cards offers several advantages, one of which is particularly important.

The Biggest Reason to Always Pay with Credit Card

The biggest reason to always pay with a credit card is the purchase protection. I saw this in effect recently with my mom and a $450 treadmill she purchased last fall.

The Credit Card Purchase

My mom is trying to improve her fitness level, so last September, she bought a treadmill on Amazon. The treadmill was never perfect—she complained about how hard it was to walk on it. When I visited her recently, I tried the treadmill, and it felt heavy and slow. A few days into my visit, the treadmill would turn on and off, but you couldn’t get the tread to move.

Customer Service Was a Bust

We discovered the treadmill company is in China, and the only phone number for support was a Chinese number. I emailed support and told them what the problem was. The company took two days to get back to me and then asked for a video demonstrating the problem. I sent that and then waited another two days for a reply. Next, they told me how to disassemble part of the treadmill and send them more videos showing the problem. I did, and then I didn’t get a reply for several days.

Contacting Amazon Didn’t Help

Meanwhile, I contacted Amazon to ask for a refund. Amazon said they couldn’t help me because the return window closed in December. When I mentioned that the treadmill had a one-year warranty, Amazon said I had to work with the manufacturer.

Customer Service Still Refused to Help

Reasons to Always Pay with a Credit Card

By now, I had been going back and forth with the treadmill company’s customer service for approximately 10 days. Finally, I said I wanted a refund as the treadmill was under warranty and shouldn’t break after five months of ownership. The company told me to contact Amazon to activate the warranty, which I had already done, to no avail.

Contacting the Credit Card Company Made the Difference

I then contacted the credit card company and explained what had happened. After taking down all the details, the credit card company issued my mom a full refund. Having the ability to go straight to the credit card company to get a refund when all else fails is the biggest reason to always pay with a credit card.

Final Thoughts

My opinion to always pay with a credit card, especially with large purchases, was reaffirmed with this situation. Further, I learned that when purchasing something on Amazon, checking out reviews is not enough. I must also verify where the company is based. A company based in China may be challenging to work with and receive assistance.

We used my mom’s credit card refund to purchase a new treadmill from a company based in Arkansas. If she has trouble in the future, I’m confident communicating with the company will be easier.

Read More

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Do You Have a Rainy Day Cash Fund?

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Everyone should have a rainy day cash fund.  Not an emergency fund.  Although, you should have one of those as well.  No, a rainy day cash fund should be exactly that.  Cash.  Easily accessible, and easily spendable. Ahhh!  Did he just say “easily spendable”?  Yes.  I did.  Why would I say something like that?  Common advice is that you should put your money in an account where it isn’t easily spendable.  Especially your emergency fund.  You don’t want any everyday “emergency” to drain your emergency fund dry.  It’s for real emergencies.  An engine in a car that stops working and needs repairs.  Although, some would argue that’s what a car repair fund is for. Those quasi “emergencies” aren’t what a rainy day cash fund is for either.  Sorry.  I’m sure some of you wanted me to tell you that it was smart to have a little stash of cash that you could hide away for those tools you really, really, “needed”.  But, it’s not for that.

What is a Rainy Day Cash Fund for?

Rainy Day Cash FundIt’s still for real emergencies.  Just not the kind that your emergency fund is for. Consider.  A major power outage happens.  You really, really, need a tank of propane to light up to heat your house until the power comes back on.  You get to the gas station, or wherever you buy the propane from, except they don’t have any power either.  Their credit card reader isn’t going to take your debit card.  In fact, they’re writing down transactions and calculating change with a calculator.  Without power, it’s a cash only transaction.  If you don’t have any cash, you’re headed back to your cold house without any propane to heat the house with. Taken to an even farther extreme (a Prepper extreme, you might say) you could find yourself in a situation where regional or national economies fail entirely.  Of course, having cash in that regional or national currency probably isn’t going to do you much good.  That’s why you hear all the stories about preppers stockpiling gold and silver.  They believe that in a situation of economic collapse, everyone will revert back to gold and silver for bartering with each other.  In the show, Revolution, which is about the total loss of the power grid and the destabilization that follows, you’ll often see people paying each other in diamonds. I’m not saying that you’ve got to have a couple of coffee cans full of gold coins out under the tree in the backyard.  For most of the situations you’ll find yourself in, a little of ol’ greenback will do you just fine.

How Much Cash in a Rainy Day Cash Fund?

Thousands.  Then, please send me a note with your address, and the exact location where the cash is stored. I’m only kidding.  Much like anything else, your rainy day cash fund is a bit variable.  It will depend on what you can afford to just put away in cash.  Although, for most, the rainy day cash fund is well within budgetary limits.  Really, what we’re talking about is having enough cash available that you can afford a tank of gas, or a loaf of bread should you be unable to use a debit card. In almost every case, something like $100 should be plenty.

Where to Put the Rainy Day Cash Fund?

The short answer is, wherever you want.  Just make sure that it’s reasonably secure, and easily accessible.  Buried in a can in the back yard is probably not the best idea.  Your wallet isn’t a very good idea either.  If you’re creative enough, you can find plenty of places to hide that small stash in your house.  If you’re not so creative, there are plenty of pre-devised ways to stealthily hide your money.  Here’s a few easy ones:

  • Tape the bills lightly (you don’t want to rip them taking them off) to the back of a framed picture in your house.  Most people won’t look there, and you’ve only got to take the picture off the wall to reach them.  Just don’t forget they’re there if you decide you don’t want the picture anymore.
  • Under your mattress.  Yes, really.  It’s an old joke, but it’s also a convenient place that’s easily reachable and that most people aren’t going to casually look in if they’re being nosy.
  • In a book.  Pick your favorite book, and your favorite page and place the bills in the books there.  Again, easily reachable, and less likely to be found.  Just make sure that if you ever decide that you don’t need that book around, that you take the money out first.
  • In the freezer.  This is another old one.  Throw the bills into an envelope and place it at the back of the freezer.  Easy enough to get to if you really, really need it, but not so easy that guests (welcome or not) will easily find it.
  • Behind the furnace.  Put the bills in an envelope, along with a decently strong kitchen magnet.  Attach the envelope to the back of your furnace or any metal surfaced appliance so long as they won’t be exposed to flame or extreme heat.  Easily accessible, but who’s gonna go poking around your furnace (or the back of your fridge) looking for loot?

That’s just a few ideas.  What it really boils down to is putting a little cash away for a rainy day when you need it, and placing it somewhere where it won’t easily be found by prying eyes. What do you think?  Should you have a little rainy day cash fund?  How much would you put in it?  Where are some other good places to put the cash?

Back to a Cash Economy?

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With the recent increase in new fees at banks, and the backlash it has caused, people are starting to determine what the alternatives are.  At the moment, there are still banks and credit unions that are maintaining their current fee structure without adding anything new.  Many of those are also maintaining their “free” accounts.  But, if the Durbin Amendment remains, it may be only a matter of time before they buckle under the costs and start removing “free” accounts and adding fees.

What then?  It that happens, we might see a financial world where all debit cards have a monthly fee.  We might see more annual fees on credit cards, and higher interest on credit cards.  We might see more and more checking and savings accounts having a minimum deposit amount and/or a monthly fee.

Use Cash OnlyAs a card-carrying member of the NGPAF (Not Gonna Pay Any Fees) club, that might just make me decide that I don’t want to use any of their services anymore.  My depository institution might just have to become the coffee can in my backyard.  Seriously, though.  If all of those services become services with fees, we might see a pretty drastic increase in the usage of cash again.  Many of us don’t use cash all that much.  I know I don’t.

And what happens if we return to a cash economy?  The banks get even less transaction fees.  Their income drops because of it.  And we all see what happens when their bottom line is threatened.  More fees.  It could send the banking industry into a never ending spiral of more and more fees until the only people who still use banks are the ones who don’t feel comfortable keeping thousands of dollars in a coffee can in the backyard.

Luckily for me, I belong to a credit union that isn’t likely to add any additional fees anytime soon.  What about you?  Do you belong to a Credit Union or Bank that hasn’t added fees recently?  What if they did?  How long do you think it will be before we have to choose to either pay fees or carry cash?

photo credit: flattop341