Using your credit or debit card for purchases has several benefits. Not only do you have more protection than if you were to lose cash, but card purchases are also more traceable. From a budgeting standpoint you can easily look at your statement to see where your money went, unlike with cash where you’ll likely have to rely on your memory.
However, it’s also helpful for tracking down a receipt and getting proof of purchase.
Recently, my wife needed to obtain a receipt to make a claim for a purchase that was still covered under a manufacturer’s warranty, and had the purchase been done with cash, we’d be out of luck if we didn’t have the physical receipt on hand. However, because the transaction involved a credit card it was very quick and easy for the store to pull up the receipt and provide us with a copy of it.
While some people associate credit card spending with bad or irresponsible habits, that’s simply not the case. Especially in the case of credit cards where consumers often get points or cashback just for using their cards. Cash, however, is much harder to recover if lost and doesn’t give the consumer any added benefits.
The biggest problem with using cash for purchases is that there is no way to trace the transaction back to its original owner, and that makes finding a proof of purchase next to impossible for vendors.
If you prefer to use your bank account, then debit cards will also provide you with similar traceability.
