October 20th, 2010
Wednesday Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
Will using your debit or credit card make you fat?
A recent study, reported on The New York Times, found that paying with credit or debit cards made people more likely to make impulsive, unhealthy food purchases.
Research shows that consumers were significantly more likely to buy “bad” things such as junk food and other “vice products” when using a debit or credit card.
The psychological argument behind it is that when consumers spend on plastic, it reduced the “pain of payment”, the feeling that physically handing over a dollar bill takes away from the pleasure of consumption, the article states. Thus, spending with a credit or debit card made it easier to give into impulses because pain of payment was less felt.
Is the lesson here that paying cash will help you keep up with your diet? Maybe the key takeaway is that, in general, paying on card makes us more likely to impulse buy—whether we are at the grocery store or shopping for clothes or electronics. Be responsible about your use of plastic, and you’ll steer clear of debt, and possibly extra calories.
Today’s roundup deserves a big thumbs up for the awesome posts of credit card advice and debt help from top sources around the web! Happy reading!
Credit Card News
- How much you pay for stuff could soon determine how much you pay, reports USA Today. Learn more on how the recent credit card lawsuit of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express could affect you.
- SmartMoney recaps The Return of 0% APR Credit Cards. What can you expect from these revamped credit card offers? Check out the ups and downs.
- Credit Card Benefits: 15 Common Consumer Protections, from Financial Highway, has all the cool perks you can get from your plastic–like price protection and roadside assistance.
- Better options for credit cards, from MSN Money, tells you what popular credit cards to avoid, and which credit card recommendations are your best bets.
- Catch up with some need-to-know information about a growing market, brought to you by WalletPop– Medical credit cards: Can they harm your financial health?
Debt News
- How to avoid a debt doomsday, reports CNNMoney.
- Here’s a novel idea – How to pay off debt with the income you have, from Studenomics blog. No need to earn extra income to reduce debt; you can make do with what you have.
- Mint.com is hosting a Drop Your Debt To Win sweepstakes. Use Mint’s money management tool to win up to $5,000 dollars.
- The Digerati Life shares some tongue-in-cheek advice in Get Your Debt Under Control With These Debt Fighting Tricks.
- Curious about the popular Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball Payoff Strategy? Bargaineering explains how it works.
- Mix up your usual blog reads with this personal finance comic book from Enemy of Debt! Read Check out the PF Comics: Deliver Away Debt Revealed!
