In this day and age, cash seems to be going the way of the dinosaur.  People simply do not carry cash with them anymore.  As much as I personally tried to avoid joining this increasing majority, I’ve become one of them.  I always keep a few dollars in my wallet and always have an emergency $20 folded and tucked inside my wallet, but, other than that, I stick with me debit card.

This trend has lead to a much-debated question:  Should you use a credit card or a debit card?  I’ve chosen to use a debit card but many people swear by using a credit card for all purchases.  Below, I’ll outline a few of the benefits of choosing to use a credit card.

Avoid Fraud

Using a credit card helps reduce the risk of becoming a victim of fraud.  When fraudulent charges are discovered, they are marked as disputed and you are only responsible for paying the undisputed charges.

Maintaining Records

The information contained in your credit card statement, both paper and online, provide you with the ability to easily keep track of your spending.  This benefit is also available with debit cards.

Rewards Programs

This is probably the biggest benefit of using credit cards.  Most credit cards offer a rewards program.  The most common examples include cash-back programs and reward points programs.  Many people choose to make all of their purchases on a credit card so that they can receive the rewards, then simple pay the bill at the end of the month.  The logic behind this is that you would be spending the same amount of money if you wrote a check or used a debit card.  By using a credit card, the reasoning goes, you get more for your money in the overall picture.  If you can use self-discipline to control your spending, then I see where this method would be beneficial.

While recent graduates should be looking for ways to pinch pennies, the current economic climate has sparked interest in simple money-saving tips for many not-so-recent graduates.  The truth is, saving money is not as painful as you think.  In fact, there are dozens of ways that you can save yourself a sizable amount of money without even noticing it.  Below are a few examples.

Bring Your Lunch to Work Once a Week

Let’s face it, no one likes to brown bag it.  Once 11:30 rolls around and your co-workers are starting to get together a plan for lunch, it can be very hard to resist.  However, the price difference between the $10 you would spend eating out versus the $3 bringing your own lunch would cost you should provide some incentive.

Monthly amount saved = $7.

Get a Subscription to Your Favorite Magazine

Getting a subscription to your favorite magazine rather than buying the new issue each month can save you some big bucks.  For example, buying the newest issue of Vanity Fair will set you back $4.95, whereas a year subscription costs you $15 ($1.25 per monthly issue).

Monthly amount saved = $3.70.

Start Paying Your Bills Online

By paying your bills online you can save the cost of postage and late fees.  For example, if you pay 5 bills each month it costs you around $2.10.

Monthly amount saved = $2.10.

Take-Away Lesson

These may seem like small amounts of money but they can add up to some pretty substantial savings without even breaking a sweat.  Also, these are just a few examples off the top of my head that are intended to get you thinking about tiny little corners you can cut to start saving money.

Lifehacker recently pointed out a new web application called Thrive that lets you plug in your financial data and then it analyzes it for you.  Some of the great features offered include:

• Help you identify precisely what you are spending your money on.
• Financial health score based on your current and projected financial stability.
• Budget creator.
• Suggestion service.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been checking the mail every day expecting to find your refund check from the IRS.  And if you’re even more like me, you still have yet to receive your refund.  Lucky for us, I’ve found a link to the site where you can check the status of your refund check.  Click on the link below and you can check by entering your social security number, your filing status, and the exact amount your are being refunded.  

• Check Refund Status

Hope this makes the waiting less painful.

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