by Gordon Sumner

Created on: February 19, 2009

Depending on your point of view, credit cards are either a godsend or they are the spawn of the devil. Some people love the convenience of swiping their plastic at any and every retail outlet and others wouldn't touch the things with a ten-foot pole.

The credit card debate of whether or not to use them, and in what instances has polarized consumers for as long as the Visa, MasterCard and American Express have been in business.

Credit cards, inherently, are enticing to the consumer. They enable buyers to make purchases quickly and easily. Credit cards also allow users to purchase large-ticket items without having to have the necessary cash on hand to do so. Most cards offer some kind of loyalty program that provides benefits to the customer in the form of airline miles, cash back, travel points, and many other types of rewards.

For instance, I just recently redeemed some points from one of my credit cards for a $100 gift card to Ruth Chris's Steak House. The way I look at it, this one is on the house. And the "house" just happens to be my credit card company.

Going out for an expensive steak dinner is something we might not have otherwise spent money on. But since it was a reward, it felt like getting something for nothing. That is just one example of the numerous advantages that come from using credit card reward programs.

There are other perks that come from credit card usage. It is easy to download your card activity into financial software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money. This allows you to track what you are spending and where. It is easier to lose track of where cash is being spent because there is no paper trail to follow. Credit card statements make it easy to see where the money is going.

Using cash, checks and debit cards is a viable alternative to credit card spending. Cash, checks and debit cards are often seen as a better way to manage spending compared to credit cards mainly because they keep the user from getting into consumer debt. All three of these purchasing methods do not allow you to go into debt.

The beauty of paying cash is that once it is gone, it is gone. You can't overspend with cash you don't have. Check writing and debit cards function in the same way. If you try and write a check or use your debit card when your account is empty, the check will bounce and the card will be declined. These examples illustrate the point that cash, check and debit cards provide a healthy alternative to credit cards because they do not allow the individual

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