Comments on: The Credit Card Question – Employ or Eschew?

By: Toronto auto insurance quote

Toronto auto insurance quote — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:38:34 +0000

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the only way to survive now is to pay in cash or not to buy if there is no cash!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:35:49 +0000

If you use your card as a debit card, they don’t have the same fee (called an “discount rate”) that a credit card does.

Unfortunately, though, as our world turns more and more to plastic ( what’s in YOUR wallet ), greater volumes of transactions will be processed.

By: GHolmes

GHolmes — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:38:34 +0000

@John
Yes Wal-mart uses volume to keep costs low but banks still make money with their relationship with big box stores. Banks dont need us small time merchants to carry the Wal-marts of this world.

As consumers of short term borrowing you have to figure out how much it costs. Nothing is free.

My $.02, if you look only to your credit card statement you are being extremely short sited.

By: John

John — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:09:29 +0000

@GHolmes – that is a good point. I bet that a huge company like Wal-Mart can negotiate a pretty low fee, but I would guess that the fees are not insignificant for a small business.

By: GHolmes

GHolmes — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:04:01 +0000

My wife and I eschew credit cards and have for 2+ years. Not that they are evil but they are an expensive tool.

Even if you pay your balance off and never incur a fee you still pay for your short term borrowing.

Go interview a local business and ask about their merchant service fees for visa/mastercard.

The credit card companies aren’t making money by tricking customers. They make their money from the merchants who pay for your short term borrowing. The merchants then increase the price of goods/service and ALL customers pay.