I got a strange piece of mail yesterday, and almost tossed it since I get approx 3 pieces of campaign spam every day (the joys of living in NH…I’m guessing Iowa is the same). Luckily I opened it, since it’s the form for claiming a piece of the settlement for Visa/Mastercard overcharging on foreign transactions.
Madame X of My Open Wallet has a post with more details.
Interesting post here: How’s This for a Savings Account? $8000 Cash in a Shoebox
I have to admit, I have the same irrational fear of debit cards. But I don’t take out cash every other day, or keep it in a shoebox. At many places, like the grocery store, you can use your non-debit ATM card with PIN to make purchases. Works just like a debit card but requires a PIN, so it makes me feel a bit better about using it. I also use a rewards card (paid in full each month) for most of the purchases that I would otherwise use a debit card for.
There are differing opinions of using a credit card, but I pay it in full every month and enjoy the rewards, so it works for me. I do end up taking cash out a couple times a month, but I know where the free ATMs are and don’t pay all that much in fees. I’m sure if I made more small purchases I’d need to use cash more often, but I don’t eat lunch out much, and try to group my grocery purchases into one trip a week, so it’s a large enough purchase that I use my credit card. Cash is mostly used on trips, either for small impulse purchases or when splitting a check.