When I was a little girl there was a K-Mart about 15 minutes from our house. We would get a number of things there. When Target opened a store down the street from the K-Mart it was the best thing ever. I loved the Target. It had everything. Many years later a Walmart opened. I really didn’t like the Walmart. Target was it for me. I liked Target so much that I had a Target credit card. I don’t remember using my Target credit card at all and then Target upgraded my card to the Target Visa. The Visa arrived … Continue reading →

When debit cards first came out, I thought… how cool! A card you can use in replace of writing a check. The idea saved me time and money — two of my favorite things. Then it all started to crumble. A woman I worked with had a horrible financial disaster… all due to her debit card. She had gone shopping at a local clothing store and bought a few items for about $50. The next thing she knew was her mortgage and car loan checks had bounced. Where was all her money? She called the bank to discover that instead … Continue reading →

Debit cards look and act much like credit cards, but there is an important difference. Credit card charges represent, in essence, a loan from the creditor or card issuer. When you use your credit card to pay for a washer and dryer, for example, the money is then paid by the creditor to the store owner on your behalf. You are then required to repay that amount in addition to any interest charged in exchange for the privilege of the loan. Credit cards allow spending up to a predetermined limit. When you use a debit card the money you spend … Continue reading →