Credit Cards - Convenient & Necessary?

Recently my credit card was compromised. This has happened to me a few times and I’m thinking it’s happened to you as well. It’s a small pain but not the end of the world for me to be without a credit card for a week because we don’t need credit cards, right? It wasn’t until I no longer had free use of a credit card that I realized just how vital a role they play in our everyday lives, especially now with the increase of online purchasing and vendors that prefer we use a card over cash during the global pandemic.

During the weekend, still without my credit card, I went to the mall to stock up on coffee from Nepresso and various products from LUSH and experienced how frustrating using a debit card can be. The tap on mine doesn’t work so I need to use it the old fashioned way and sometimes the machine can’t decide whether it wants me to swipe or insert the card. Even though I had only spent 1/10th of my daily limit, I had to go get cash because my debit card declined the second transaction. First world problems, I know, but I find it fascinating that a debit card connected to a chequing account with plenty of funds in it can be less convenient to use than a credit card that you use to borrow money. Think about that for a minute.

This got me thinking about how many of us use credit cards for everything. I almost always pay with my credit card because it’s convenient, but also because I love earning points for WestJet flights! Replace that with your reward of choice and we’re probably in a similar situation. When I was without a credit card, I realized I couldn’t order anything online or ahead of time (ie. groceries and takeaway) and it put a small damper in some of my plans. Again, it really wasn’t a big deal but something we wouldn’t think about unless we find ourselves without a credit card.

Of course with this convenience comes an easy opportunity to accumulate debt. Credit card debit can be a tough one to conquer because of the high, compounding interest rate. But when the debt is due to negative spending habits such as spending more than you make, using shopping for emotional relief, or to finance a lifestyle you can’t afford, there’s some internal work that needs to happen. On that topic, please don’t feel shame if you have credit card debt. It’s incredibly common and it’s not your fault. If it’s something you want to tackle, and I really hope it is because your life will be much better when you do, there are people and organizations who can help you with that. If you need a little push in the right direction, let me know.

For more of my thoughts around credit cards, including how they can be a useful tool and how they can be an easy way to accumulate debt, check out this post from my Money Monday series.