Debit Cards, Credit Cards, and Prepaid Cards

I'm from the Dave Ramsey school of thought on credit cards. Despite the rewards and promises they may offer, you are most likely better off in the long haul avoiding them. My attitude towards credit cards are that they are a fire you don't need to play with. Sure, if you can pay them off in full each month, you can gain rewards in the range of 1-3% of your total expenditures. Not bad, especially if you were going to spend that money anyway. But what has always made me uncomfortable about credit cards is the fact that all it takes is one missed payment to completely skewer your credit rating and undo any benefits that you may receive. At least with debit cards, you are working with money that is already sitting in your account, so hopefully the amount of money in your account will act as an automatic buffer to prevent you from recklessly racking up debt. If you have to use plastic, my favorite method is a prepaid card. I personally own three different prepaid cards--one I use for transportation purchases, one for food purchases, and another for emergencies. That way, I can have $300-$500 sitting on these cards that I have already put my own money into, and I can use them when I really need them, instead of on a mere whimsical expense. Ron over at The Wisdom Journal recently wrote a great article on this subject, so be sure to check out his website by clicking here: http://www.thewisdomjournal.com/Blog/the-difference-between-prepaid-cards-debit-cards-and-credit-cards/ .