For some may be a little leery about using a credit card, after all, all these years growing up it was always embedded into our heads that putting something on a credit card meant that you did not actually have the money and you were sort of kicking the can down the street, if you will. That outlook has definitely changed over the years, and not only does putting charges on your credit card mean you do not have to pay until next month (and yes, make sure you pay off the entire balance by the due date to avoid interest), using the plastic is actually the financially responsible thing to do for making some purchases.
Basically, Any Online Shopping
Besides the giants like Amazon where they have pretty much a no questions asked return policy and almost instant refund as soon as the item is sent back, with free shipping back no less, there are plenty of sites that you do not know what happens when you put your credit card information in, so it would be nice to be able to dispute the charge if you do not receive the item, instead of paying with debit and waiting for the money to come back into your bank account, which could take a month.
Hotels and Rental Cars
Most hotels and rental car companies will accept debt cards at the time of reservation, but they will put a significant hold that can be upwards of a few hundred dollars on your account that will be reimbursed after completion, which then could take a week or two to be returned, a large sum of money to be missing for an extended period of time.
Big Ticket Items = Rewards $
I put everything on a credit card simply for the rewards dollars. I do not go out of my way to purchase extra things, but the charges that I would have normally used my debit card for, like going out to eat, gas, and concert tickets, will now go on my credit card and I earn anywhere between 1-4% back on, which may not seem like much, until I received a $700 check recently for cashback on my previous year’s purchases, free to spend wherever.
Charitable Donations
I mention that it is nice to put charitable donations on a credit card simply for ease of keeping track. When it comes to tax season you do not have to go searching for what you donated, you can check statements, instead of digging for cash receipts, which can be hard to prove if you are ever audited.
Monthly Bills
Not only will you earn rewards at the same time, but all of your monthly bills can come from the same source, and paid at once when the due date comes, instead of making sure you have enough at each pay period to spread them out over the course of the month, figuring out when the best time to pay is. This way, you can set up automatic payments on the due date for everything and never worry about having insufficient funds or missing a payment.
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