I hate credit cards. I hate debt.
If you want to hit me where it hurts, you’ll mess with my finances.
Yesterday, my lone credit card company did just that.
I’m ticked.
I got a letter from them stating that they were lowering my credit limit… blah blah blah… based on information received from credit bureau blah blah blah…Whatever.
Translation - we see that you have your act together these days and it doesn’t appear that you are going to regress back to your carefree days of living beyond your means and you’re not going to carry a balance and when you do owe something you’ll pay it in full and on time and we won’t be able to charge you finance charges or late fees, so allow us to take this opportunity to attempt to lower your credit score.
You may find yourself asking, “if you hate debt/credit cards so much, why do you have one?” (If you’re here for Works For Me Wednesday, stay with me. I’m getting there). The answer is quite simple (though not the whole “in case of emergency” cop-out). I feel that shopping online is much more secure when using a credit card rather than a debit card. I know, I know, that is kind of an antiquated way to think. I do believe they’ve made advances in the whole debit card thing where there is more security in case of identity theft and all. I’m just stubborn, I guess. So, we kept A credit card for use online.
I’m severly lacking in a proper transitional statement here, so, in light of my being extra extra anti-credit card today, let me just introduce what Works For Me:
I love paying with PayPal. My PayPal account is tied directly to my checking account and it’s just like I’m spending cash. I can only spend what I have. There’s no temptation to spend a little extra with the intention of paying for it next month. (There’s always going to be more money next month, right?!) Unfortunately, not all online retailers accept PayPal. Luckily, with the quick download of the PayPal Plug-In, an icon is placed on your browser toolbar. When you are ready to place an order online, you simply click it. Up comes a pop-up box for you to log into PayPal and, SHAZAAM!, a random MasterCard number is generated for use on your purchase. The number is tied only to your PayPal account, and in turn to your checking account. Voila! No credit card needed. Not on your home computer? Simply log into your PayPal account as you normally would to check your balance or transaction history, follow the links to the Plug-In function, then request a random MC number. Snazzy, huh?
Now, there’s really no reason to use that silly credit card anymore, is there?
I didn’t think so.
I had no idea! Paypal had a pretty good idea with the plug-in because I would imagine more and more people will begin thinking about debt as you do. Thanks for sharing!
I never knew about this. Thanks!
Wow! I had no idea they had that. That would make me feel a lot better than giving out my debit card number all the time. I lurve PayPal. You rock, Bee.
I have heard of temp CC numbers but didn’t realize Paypal had them! Thanks for the info
I love paypal as well I also love the new pay as you go visa
i love paypal and the safety of it, not having to put my debit card info down and stuff.
I love Paypal! Do you know, even Southwest Airlines accepts it now? My biggest purchases have always been airline tickets (to see my mom in Ohio), and now I can transfer cash into Paypal and not have several hundred dollars on my credit cards. Paypal is a great way to avoid using those evil little pieces of plastic.
I keep hearing about this PayPal plug in – it’s such a shame that it’s only available for US residents. Sadly no such luck for Aussies like me… At least Etsy FINALLY lets you pay your bill with a regular PayPal account now, though. But I can’t wait for the ability to ditch the credit card for online purchases completely. I guess I’ll just wait and hope…
Thanks for the post.
good to know!
that’s sweet about paypal – will have to check that out. we keep a credit card just in case for the same reason – security. we had our debit card copied and checking emptied out about 18 months ago and it was such a pain – took months to get it all worked out and the bank dude told us when ordering online it would be best to use a credit card. ugh. but this sounds great! i’m going to tell the hubs about it. thanks for passing it along!
Great tip! I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve always been afraid of paypal… I don’t know why. I recently used it, (I’ve had an account for a couple of years) and it was so easy and painless! Who knew? My husband is on the same page with you on the credit v. debit online. I’ll have to let him know about this option!
That is the coolest thing ever. That seems MORE safe (is that improper grammar?) than a credit card. We’ve had fraud on our cc at least 4 times b/c of online transactions. Thank goodness it wasn’t our checking account…