by Frances Stanford

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: March 25, 2009

Debit cards have become the cash of the present. Hardly anyone carries cash any more depending on the use of their debit cards as a way of paying for their purchases. If you have a bank account, then you have a debit card. While you can use them to make a purchase just about anywhere and to obtain cash from an ATM machine you can only use them in this manner if you have cash available in your checking or savings account.

There are huge advantages to using your debit card for your purchases. You don't need to carry cash or write checks. Most businesses no longer accept personal checks nowadays, so using your debit card makes sense. The business is sure of getting their money and you don't have to worry about the check bouncing because of non-sufficient funds in your bank account. You don't have to pay any fees for the use of the card to obtain a cash advance as long as you use an ATM from your bank.

You have no worries about having to make payments on the amount of money you use on your debit card because you are actually using your own money. This allows you to keep your credit card for emergency use only and you won't have to rely on it for small purchases. You won't be able to overspend because you do have a daily limit on the amount of money you can spend using your debit card. The usual daily amount is either $500 or $1000 and this gives you protection in that if someone should steal your card and PIN they cannot wipe out your account at one time before you notice the fraudulent activity. You do need to memorize your PIN and not have it in your wallet or purse for your own protection.

Along with using your debit card for your purchases, you do need to enter all transactions in your check book so that you can keep tabs on your spending. You can also check on your balance online and keep on top of things. However, you should not rely totally on online bank statements because they may not be recorded in real time and therefore may not show your most recent transactions.

You should have an overdraft protection plan in place so that if you find that you are short of funds and need to use your debit card, you can do so. This protection allows you to spend more money than what you have in your account up to an allowable limit. You will have to pay a fee, though, if you do use some of the funds in the overdraft, which show up as a monthly charge on your account.

Using your debit card instead of your credit card helps you better manage your money each month. It also helps to have your salary directly deposited into your bank account and avoid having to visit the bank or an ATM to make a deposit.

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