Should I Use Cash or Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping?

In answer to the question “Should I use cash or credit cards for holiday shopping“, you may be surprised that while cash is preferable, it may be necessary to use a credit card.

If you are shopping at department stores or malls, of course, the best advice most experts offer is to pay with cash or a debit card. The less debt you have after the holiday season the better.

However, if you plan to shop online this holiday season you will need to use a credit card. There is one caveat, however; try to pay the balance of the debt before Christmas.

Someone once remarked that cash will be obsolete in a few years time. Actually, that may not happen. In this digital age of computers, there is no argument to be made that it is easier to use a credit card for just about any purchase. However, with the new swiping machines at coffee houses, office supply stores, supermarkets, and department stores, it can make the shopping experience a more pleasant one.

What is overlooked is the cost to the consumer. The prices of retail items surge whenever a department head decides to make improvements that “benefit” the consumer.

In the old days, our grandparents rarely bought anything on credit. That is to say, while they may not have used charge cards, they would often ask the merchant to put the purchased items on the books to be paid at a later time. The point is, if they couldn’t afford to buy something, they just didn’t buy it.

Christmas during those days did not encompass mounds of gifts under the tree. It was all about family – coming together to celebrate an event that had meaning and purpose in their lives. If there were any gifts given, they were tokens of affection.

Although credit cards may be considered a convenience today, they are often nothing more than the start of ongoing debt that can be devastating to families who barely make ends meet. Buying on credit offers short-term satisfaction with long-term pain.

If we can avoid credit card debt now, perhaps they will have a future to look forward to that doesn’t involve bankruptcies, foreclosures, and a long-awaited retirement that may never come.

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