<p>Should I get a credit card? There is an "official bank" at my university so I was planning on using checks and cash, though a credit card would be extremely convenient. I'm just worried about it being TOO convenient, and I've already decided I don't want to deal with overdraw charges on a debit.
In terms of using the ATM..there are also banks on campus because of the "official bank" set-up.
I was thinking of just getting by with my ID [acts as a sort of drawing-from-funds card] on-campus with checks + cash sufficing for the rest.
I'm ultra-responsible...at least in the environment I'm in now. My dad is pushing for me to get a credit card..
I'll also have a car to take care of if that factors in. I'm not a big partier at all and the university I'll be attending is in a definite college town.
What do you all think?</p>
<p>Use money from the ATM for small purchases. Plus, cash at hand makes you a bit more mindful of how much you are spending and can help prevent you from spending too much.</p>
<p>It is good to use the credit card sometimes also so you can build your credit. I use my credit card for textbooks, tickets to concerts, and when I go to the mall to buy clothing. But I make sure I pay them online as soon as possible so I don’t mess up my credit. </p>
<p>I’d say get a credit card, but know your limits. But rely more on the ATM so you don’t go too crazy. Use cash for smaller purchases. I usually make sure that I have at least 30-40 bucks on me at all times.</p>
<p>I don’t have a credit card…I think I would be too tempted to use it and go into debt. Once I have a more steady job I might get one so I can start building my credit score.</p>
<p>I use Quicken software and link it to my checking account. You can download your purchases and categorize it so you know exactly where your money is going, and you know exactly how much you have.</p>
<p>It’s really not that hard to keep from overdrafting if you’re smart with your money. Just make sure you know what you’re spending and what your balance is. Don’t spend money you don’t have.</p>
<p>lots of banks are offering text services where you can send a text message from your phone and check your balance. It is a good tool to know how much you have at all times</p>
<p>I’m a big proponent of credit cards. Here’s the thing: as long as you use as you would a debit card, a credit card is always superior to a debit card. Why? Time value of money. When you use a debit card, you’re buying stuff today with today’s dollars. When you use a credit card, you’re buying stuff today with tomorrow’s dollars. (Technically, one-month-later dollars.)</p>
<p>But you may ask, isn’t paying later essentially a loan? Why, yes it is! Credit cards are nothing but access to very short-term loans. As long as you pay your bill in full and on time, your effective interest rate is ZERO percent. You pay no interest even though you’re actually paying less for what you buy!</p>
<p>get a bank account, your parents deposit money in it each month and you can just use the money for food and other things you may need, atleast thats what im doin in college.</p>
<p>@fabrizio I think that’s one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever heard and a perfect gateway into credit card debt. If you’re planning on paying it off in full every month then you might as well just use your debit card and not worry about overspending. If you don’t pay it off in full then you get charged interest and start accumulating a credit card balance. That’s the beginnings of cc debt. And where are you getting the idea that you pay less for what you buy? Unless there’s extreme inflation in the intervening weeks between buying something and paying your cc, you’re still paying the same amount of money. That much inflation is very unlikely.</p>
<p>If you want to build credit, get a credit card and use it for only certain things that you know you need and can pay off, like textbooks.</p>
<p>If you’re worried about tracking your expenses, you can get a mint.com account that downloads your checking account info and tracks your expenditures by category. You can also set a budget and it will email you when you reach the limit. It works best if you primarily use a debit card or checks, however. It’s a bit hard to track cash transactions with the software.</p>
<p>Debit cards are good. Unless you have a job or can pull some strings you’re not getting a credit card given the current credit climate. MAYBE you can get one with a ridiculously low spending limit and insanely high interest rates and fees.</p>
<p>Checks? Really? This is 2010.</p>
<p>I suggest either going with a local credit union, or a good bank. PNC is alright, although be careful of overdrafting. And they don’t have many locations, none in the Midwest or West. USAA and Ally are both really good, but online. Meaning that they don’t have any branches (except for a few at most)… you make deposits via transfers or direct deposit or by mailing a check in. USAA lets qualified members make deposits from home with a scanner. They also refund ATM fees from other banks.</p>
<p>Mint.com is a very good money management website.</p>
<p>Also if you’re gonna be driving a car, make sure you always have a fair amount of money in your account. When you pay with a debit card, the gas station puts a temporary debit on your account simply to make sure you’ve got money to pay with. If you have less money than what that debit is, you might get overdrafted.</p>
<p>edit: Bank of America is OK, they do have a lot of locations and they do have free checking for college students. But they are an evil corporation in my mind, so beware. Citibank also has lots of locations (including an ATM at every 7-Eleven), but AFAIK no free checking unless you maintain a high minimum balance.</p>
<p>yea Credit cards are bad debit is the way to go</p>
<p>@variola</p>
<p>Your first two sentences directly contradict each other. Paying one’s credit card bills on time and in full guarantees ZERO credit card debt. And did you even read what I wrote? I mean, what’s this about overspending? Didn’t I say, “…as long as you use [a credit card] as you would a debit card…”? I didn’t advocate using a credit card to buy things one can’t afford. I said use it as you would a debit card, and you get only upsides with no downsides.</p>
<p>You seem to be unfamiliar with the fundamental principle of time value of money (TVM). I suggest that you take a basic corporate finance class next semester. Simply put, a dollar in the future is worth less than a dollar today. Suppose we’re both in line at Publix and we both buy the same things, but I use a credit card and you use a debit card. We pay the same amount, but you pay $X today, whereas I pay $X one month from now. $X one month from now is worth less than $X today, so I effectively paid less than you did. There doesn’t have to be “extreme inflation”; the only requirement for my statement to be true is a positive nominal interest rate, which is almost always the case.</p>
<p>Why do you think Bank of America is evil? Just wondering.</p>
<p>fabrizio’s assessment is correct, although the time value of money in a checking account (which is what i’m assuming you use to pay off your credit card bill) is negligible since you basically earn no interest in a checking account.</p>
<p>I’ve been using a credit card since I was 17 and always pay my bill on time. I just use the credit card for the 1-3% cash back</p>
<p>@yg7s7</p>
<p>1) The way they post transactions and such is always done to try and screw you into overdrafting. If you deposit money and then make a purchase, the purchase will be ‘counted’ first and you’ll get overdrafted. Now they’re gonna be doing away with automatic overdraft fees (in August), giving you the option of overdrafting or just having your card denied, but I’m sure they’ll find another way to screw you. Fees are a huge part of their income</p>
<p>2) Some trickster stole my dad’s identity and opened an account under BofA, and really messed up his credit. BofA did nothing to help my dad out in rectifying the issues.</p>
<p>Let’s just say if someone pulled a Fight Club on them I would drive down to North Carolina and dance on the ashes.</p>
<p>If (and it’s a very big IF) you can control your spending, get a credit card that pays rewards, be it cash back, points, or airline miles. You probably have to have your parent cosign however. I charge everything I buy and pay it all off when the bill comes from my savings account. A small checking account balance is helpful so that you have a debit card to get cash in an emergency. An account at a local credit union/bank is useful for those quick withdrawals and free ATM’s, but otherwise it doesn’t matter where your bank is physically located, IMHO. I can think of few things that may require cash (cover charges and person to person transactions). I don’t see the point of checks for most cases as bills can be paid via online banking and many credit unions/banks offer free cashier’s checks. Choose the financial institution that offers you the best combination of rates, low fees, and customer service.</p>
<p>Well the great part about my school is that the “official bank” has ATMs on-campus and that kind of thing. </p>
<p>And yes, checks are a great thing because they leave a paper trail which, in turn, is something I’m comfortable with. I’ve already had a warm welcome to 2009-2010 what with the housing crisis and economic downturn I’m painfully aware of. </p>
<p>And fabrizio - just finished AP Micro - I understand the concept of opportunity cost and net gain. 
And you make a good point. I’m not refuting that. </p>
<p>What I’m afraid about is managing my money…I just don’t want to go crazy with the whole spending issue. Going in the red for just college is not a great thing to do.</p>
<p>I’ll check out Mint.com too.</p>
<p>Another reason to get a credit card is that some online companies won’t ship to your school address with a debit card. That’s the reason I originally needed to get one; so I could get text books shipped directly to my dorm.</p>
<p>If you haven’t had a job and/or checking account, I don’t recommend getting a credit card right away. You need to learn to manage money - or determine if managing money is or isn’t a problem for you - with a low-stakes debit card rather than a credit card.</p>
<p>If you really really want a credit card, check out secured credit cards. You put down like $500 on it, and that’s your spending limit. You can’t go above it. I think you still build credit with it too.</p>
<p>Credit cards ARE great if you can control yourself, but how many times has someone said they’ll just do something once, or try something once… then before you know it they’ve got a bad habit. Always try to pay for stuff in cash/debit. Obviously some things like houses are nigh impossible to pay for in cash unless you’re already rich, but for instance if you wanna buy a computer just save up for it then pay. The less debt you carry around the better.</p>
<p>Also keep squirreling away money. Let it grow and grow and grow. Eventually you get enough to put in a CD, so do that. Or if you’re comfortable with it, invest. Before you know it you’ll have a lot of money to make a down payment on a house when the time comes.</p>
<p>I will definitely be saving the pennies here and there, DCHurricane - good suggestion! Especially because most of the money I’ll have saved up will be gone by grad school days…which is a bummer. If only I were Paris Hilton! 
Or somebody similarly wealthy (at least monetarily…), hah.
The stock market normally has really high returns (7%?) and seems to hop back but I could just let the investors make a portfolio so I don’t have to keep up with the trends. I think I have one already so I’ll have to liquify it to get the money for grad school -__- might as well be doing damage control now! Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>I use a debit card for nearly everything. I got a credit card this past Christmas through USAA in order to build up my credit. If you have access to USAA then I’d recommend their card. I use it to pay cable. In January, however, there were some emergencies and money issues where I was extremely thankful to have a credit card. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to pick up my books or buy groceries. I also found out the campus bookstore requires a credit card in order to rent textbooks.
I have paid the card off every month. Just got my first credit card spam offer in the mail so I know some credit building progress is being made!</p>