It turns out that using a debit card for every purchase!—is a bad idea.DON’T use debit cards for big purchases. They don’t offer the same protection that credit cards do. Credit cards allow you to reverse or dispute charges, and some will even extend the length of warranties.
DON’T use a debit card online. If you use a credit card, your liability for unauthorized charges is capped at $50, no matter what. If your debit card is lost or stolen, it must be reported within two business days to limit liability to $50. If a lost or stolen debit card is reported within 60 days, liability can go up to $500. If an unauthorized transaction is not reported within 60 days of the statement date (and the card hasn’t been reported lost or stolen), you’re on the hook for charges made after the 60th day until the report is made.
DO click on “credit” and sign for payments instead of giving a PIN. Card companies might extend the same zero-liability protection to debit cards as they do to credit cards if the debit cards are processed like the latter, but PIN transactions might not have that protection.
DON’T link your debit card to an account with a lot of money. Thieves can empty your debit-card-linked checking account, so keep just enough in the account to cover current purchases.
I, personally, do have have a debit card. I know, I am probably the last person on the planet NOT to have one but that's ok. I had one once and then I lost it, no thanks....I have better things to break out in a cold sweat over. Besides, I don't need to have another PIN number to remember. At this age, I'm lucky to remember my address on a good day. I'll stick with writing checks and I really don't mind the clerks at WalMart rolling their eyes when I whip out my checkbook, especially, the younger ones...they are just so darn cute!
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