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The point was that you spend that much MORE by using plastic, than handing over cold hard cash.
So, my premise is correct AND your statement is wrong.
I just LOVE blanket statements. Not everyone that uses credit cards overspends. YOU might, but I don't. I am on a budget. I use credit as a convenience. When I go to the grocery store I have a list of what I need to buy. As I walk around I might find some great deals to add to the basket for my pantry, but more often than not, I don't. And when we wrote checks for groceries (before there were debit cards! I'm OLD!) we did the exact same thing.
So my spending would be that same cash or credit.
I use a price book, so I know what are normal sale prices and what are deal prices.
It's not like cash is hard to get these days. Maybe 20 (30?) years ago when there wasn't an ATM machine on every corner and you actually had to go to the bank only paying in cash may have resulted in less spending.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I decide what I'm going out to buy first. I decide what method to pay for that item after.
You forgot one: Earn flight miles. I have several free round trips on southwest waiting for me.
My mom does this. She puts everything (including groceries) on the credit card, and pays it off when the bill comes every month. She and my dad go on cruises a couple times a year, and it costs maybe just a couple hundred dollars, because the rewards points cover the rest.
"If you're smart, you use credit as a tool" . . . to steal all you can from those who are not smart. Are you proud of yourself for that?
I'm not stealing from anyone. I didn't force stupid people to rack up debt that they can't afford. With a minority of exceptions, that's their problem. In fact, I'M paying for them now - in the form of all the bailouts and future taxes I'll need to pay to get us all out of this collective mess.
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