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Comment by Ylpertnodi | Hacker News Reader

Eu: Most of the people I know use debit rather than credit because we can manage our finances.

I only use CC, to earn airline points (based in Sweden). But I always pay the entire amount due at the end of the interest-free period, so I never pay interest.

I also like the fact that using a CC comes with better buyer protection than debit cards.

Rest of the world: most of us figured out how to use credit as a tool without tumbling into a spending pit. Takes a bit of discipline, sure but not impossible.

"I use debit because I can manage my finances" reads as "I don't trust myself with credit." If credit is a trap you have to avoid, that's not the flex you think it is.

It's a tool. Some people use it. Some people are scared of it.

Credit Cards improve your working capital position, interest free. Most people do not understand finance which is why debit cards are the "safer" choice.

How exactly does “we can manage our finances” follow from picking debit over credit?

Can't go into debt if you don't have a line of credit.

If one is capable of managing one's finances (and paying the card off in full every month), credit cards are a useful tool. They're a problem if one can't manage one's finances.

It is interesting that both options of either not using CC entirely or using CC but paying it off by the end of the month are equivalent, but you’ve somehow reframe the second ine as some virtuous skill one have to master (I’m not just buying bread, I’m also managing my finances by repaying the value of it in full by the end of the month to avoid being charged for interest and simultaneously improving my credit score).

Business model of banks in regard to CC are preying on people not paying it all in full for various reasons.

Financially, they're not equivalent. If you buy your bread on credit, you get an interest-free loan, and benefit from the time value of the money that you otherwise would have paid immediately. As you correctly point out, this value comes from those fleeced by the arrangement. If my comment attributed any moral valence to the two options, that was unintentional.

That only works if you keep less money than your monthly spend in high interest accounts. I always have a cushion on the account linked to the card. The only benefit of credit in the US is rewards cards that transfer wealth from those with poor discipline and financial illiteracy.

If you can manage your finances then delaying all purchase payments by 30 days for 0% interest is a no brainer. And then all the other perks that come with some cards, like accruing some small percentage of your transactions as points, extended warranty protection, ability to request charge backs if necessary, etc.

A person able to manage their finances would have no issue using a credit card.

It makes a lot of sense to avoid them if you know you are incapable of managing your finances, though.

You should learn why people really use credit cards in North America instead of making generalizations.

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