College Softball Preparedness

[Northball]

"That debit card and/or credit card, for some, will become a major problem. DD had several teammates of her 4 years get their accounts hacked."

Never Ever use a debit card for anything!......If that gets stolen, all that money comes from your bank account. A credit card stolen goes to the credit card company, who will just cancel the charge with no harm to you.

As long as your debit card carries the Visa or MasterCard logo, you have the same protections against fraud as a credit card with those logos.

The beauty of debit cards is they protect us from being human, which means we sometimes make mistakes. We can be impulsive, foolish, overspend, and forget to pay bills on time. The credit card companies/issuing banks love this and count on it for a large part of their income. They prey on people with their high interest for carrying a balance and fees for paying late.
With a debit card, you cannot go on a shopping binge and put yourself in a ton of debt. You only spend what you have. There is no bill to pay at the end of the billing cycle, so no interest or late fees.
Another perk is a less stressful life. No worrying about how I'm going to pay the CC bill when it is due. I've already paid.

 

[flash277]

As long as your debit card carries the Visa or MasterCard logo, you have the same protections against fraud as a credit card with those logos.

The beauty of debit cards is they protect us from being human, which means we sometimes make mistakes. We can be impulsive, foolish, overspend, and forget to pay bills on time. The credit card companies/issuing banks love this and count on it for a large part of their income. They prey on people with their high interest for carrying a balance and fees for paying late.
With a debit card, you cannot go on a shopping binge and put yourself in a ton of debt. You only spend what you have. There is no bill to pay at the end of the billing cycle, so no interest or late fees.
Another perk is a less stressful life. No worrying about how I'm going to pay the CC bill when it is due. I've already paid.

When criminals fraudulently use your credit card, they’re spending your credit card issuer’s money.

When criminals fraudulently use your debit card, they’re spending money from your checking account.

In other words, if someone uses your credit card without your permission, you’ll have time to report and manage the fraud before your bill is due.

With a debit card, however, the money leaves your account immediately — whether the charge is fraudulent or not. And, depending on your bank, it might take weeks or months to get your money back. In the meantime, you could miss important bill payments or have to borrow money for daily expenditures.

 

[Orange Socks]

When criminals fraudulently use your credit card, they’re spending your credit card issuer’s money.

When criminals fraudulently use your debit card, they’re spending money from your checking account.

In other words, if someone uses your credit card without your permission, you’ll have time to report and manage the fraud before your bill is due.

With a debit card, however, the money leaves your account immediately — whether the charge is fraudulent or not. And, depending on your bank, it might take weeks or months to get your money back. In the meantime, you could miss important bill payments or have to borrow money for daily expenditures.

DD uses a debit card. My solution is to transfer into her account the weekly allotment, which includes gas money, meal money and money from her savings account. If it's Friday and she has no money, she will have to wait until the Sunday transfer. If the crooks get her card, they ain't getting much. Her first semester I put ALL of her money in her account at the beginning of the semester. She ran out of money by November. Have a plan folks.

 

[Strike2]

"That debit card and/or credit card, for some, will become a major problem. DD had several teammates of her 4 years get their accounts hacked."

Never Ever use a debit card for anything!......If that gets stolen, all that money comes from your bank account. A credit card stolen goes to the credit card company, who will just cancel the charge with no harm to you.

I agree. I've never been a fan of debit cards directly tied to accounts for that reason. My kids use a re-loadable card for small expenses. More money can be put on it at any time, and if the card is compromised, it can be immediately suspended with very limited loss. I've also made them authorized users on one of my credit accounts. That gets them credit cards in their own name. It builds a credit history, they learn how to track and manage their expenses, and I require them to pay their balance off each month.

 

[Westwind]

DD‘s team had a book on how to manage personal finances show up in their equipment locker. The head coach regularly says things that indicate to me she is careful with her money and the university’s money. I’m pretty impressed with her.

The difference between this head coach and my older daughters coaches is night and day. Not impressed is all I can say about that coach, and we saw the signs very early.

 

[Northball]

I agree. I've never been a fan of debit cards directly tied to accounts for that reason. My kids use a re-loadable card for small expenses. More money can be put on it at any time, and if the card is compromised, it can be immediately suspended with very limited loss. I've also made them authorized users on one of my credit accounts. That gets them credit cards in their own name. It builds a credit history, they learn how to track and manage their expenses, and I require them to pay their balance off each month.

Six of one-way, half a dozen the other. The reloadable card for your kids would be the same as them having a bank account with a debit card. Both of them you can control the amount of money in the account. Both can be set with daily spending limits. Both can be suspended with just a phone call. Both can keep kids from getting into trouble. The only thing the debit card does not do is build a credit history. I teach my kids not to worry about credit history because when they want something, work hard and save money to buy it with cash. A house mortgage would be the exception and that can be handled without a thick credit report.

 

[Northball]

When criminals fraudulently use your credit card, they’re spending your credit card issuer’s money.

When criminals fraudulently use your debit card, they’re spending money from your checking account.

In other words, if someone uses your credit card without your permission, you’ll have time to report and manage the fraud before your bill is due.

With a debit card, however, the money leaves your account immediately — whether the charge is fraudulent or not. And, depending on your bank, it might take weeks or months to get your money back. In the meantime, you could miss important bill payments or have to borrow money for daily expenditures.

Like Orange Socks said, "Have a plan, folks" My debit card has a daily spending limit of $500. Anything over is denied. My bank monitors for unusual activity and has called me a couple times about it. One time I tried to buy a subway ticket in D.C. and it denied me until I called the bank. I don't keep all my money in that one account, and I keep enough cushion in the account that a couple of months of bills are covered.

Trying to circle back to the theme of this thread, all of my kids will have debit cards, not credit cards before going off to college. They CANNOT get themselves in debt and get shafted with late fees and high interest. As much as we all would like to think we've raised them well, sometimes they act without thinking and learn hard lessons on their own. Debit cards remove the temptation.

 

[FP26]

When I was a senior in high school we had a mandatory class the covered things like balancing a check book, creating a budget, filing taxes, etc. I think it should be required at all high schools.

 

[Strike2]

Six of one-way, half a dozen the other. The reloadable card for your kids would be the same as them having a bank account with a debit card. Both of them you can control the amount of money in the account. Both can be set with daily spending limits. Both can be suspended with just a phone call. Both can keep kids from getting into trouble. The only thing the debit card does not do is build a credit history. I teach my kids not to worry about credit history because when they want something, work hard and save money to buy it with cash. A house mortgage would be the exception and that can be handled without a thick credit report.

No...not the same thing at all. One is tied to an account that can be drained. The other is limited by the amount you load. Yes, you'll eventually recover on both, but in the meantime, the account tied to the debit account is potentially drained. While I totally agree about the importance of living within one's means, credit is a powerful tool that kids should be taught to properly use.

Good credit opens the doors to the most favorable loan terms, the best rewards programs, waived security deposits, and even lower insurance rates. In fact, I've received interest rates on auto loans that are so low that I'm better off leaving that money in the bank/investment account. It offers credibility and negotiating leverage whenever a credit score is relevant. When I did have a home mortgage taken at a time of higher rates, competing lenders pro-actively contacted me with very favorable refinancing offers, and I'm not talking about mass-mailed stuff. I've not paid a dollar in credit card interest or late fees for as long as I can remember. If a payment does arrive late a day or two late, the fees are always waived.

 

[Northball]

No...not the same thing at all. One is tied to an account that can be drained. The other is limited by the amount you load. Yes, you'll eventually recover on both, but in the meantime, the account tied to the debit account is potentially drained. While I totally agree about the importance of living within one's means, credit is a powerful tool that kids should be taught to properly use.

Good credit opens the doors to the most favorable loan terms, the best rewards programs, waived security deposits, and even lower insurance rates. In fact, I've received interest rates on auto loans that are so low that I'm better off leaving that money in the bank/investment account. It offers credibility and negotiating leverage whenever a credit score is relevant. When I did have a home mortgage taken at a time of higher rates, competing lenders pro-actively contacted me with very favorable refinancing offers, and I'm not talking about mass-mailed stuff. I've not paid a dollar in credit card interest or late fees for as long as I can remember. If a payment does arrive late a day or two late, the fees are always waived.

The debit card is tied to an account that I can control how much is in it. Just like a reloadable card. If we're talking about a spending money card for kids, we can control either card the same way and they won't get in trouble.

I applaud your diligence in handling your finances. I do believe you have done an exceptional job. I also believe you are in a small minority who do that well. I know the mistakes I have made, while not disastrous, were enough to get me mad enough with myself to where I have decided I'm no longer playing with snakes. No credit card=no interest=no late fees. My last car payment was 2006. I have paid cash since for cars. I can lose my job and not worry about repossession. No consumer loans, I always pay cash. In store financing is devastating if you're late on a payment. I'm not interested in favorable loan terms because I don't plan on taking out more debt. A loan with favorable terms may have lower interest, but it is still interest.
You and I are both after the same thing, winning with our money. We do have different approaches. I know me and I remember juggling a bunch of payments. I got bit, as do a lot of other people. And when it happened I never felt so stupid because it was completely avoidable, but I'm human. My life has a lot less stress without payments hanging over me.
I don't want my kids to go down the same messy credit path I did, so I will teach them you can't get bit if you don't play with snakes. If they can be as diligent as you, (only one of my three has shown that potential) I will applaud them and be gratified knowing they did well either way.