this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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Whenever possible, try to avoid shit like this. Credit cards and major loans too. I'm trying to avoid this until I need a loan for a house or some shit.
Credit cards are fine as long as you pay the balance every month. You even get some small perks and it's easier to balance your budget (at least for me it is). I'm not sure how buy now pay later schemes work as I've never used one of those services. Does it tack on a fee or is there interest involved automatically? They obviously are gonna rake you over the coals for being late, but credit cards do the same thing if you don't pay the balance.
In my experience it's also easier to dispute a credit card charge vs a debit charge. Also this might just be in North America but using a credit card also builds your credit score/history which is necessary down the line for things like loans or even to rent an apartment.
And your bank account isn't directly tied to a credit card, unlike a debit card. I've heard horror stories about people that have a $2k disputed charge that is just in limbo in a bank account until the investigation is complete and found in the account holder's favor.
Credit card companies actively pursue fraud and will advocate for their cardmembers first, whereas the banks seem to hold some apprehension; at least in my experience.
Yep, a debit card dispute is a "you" problem. A credit card dispute is the banks problem.
Ideally, a low limit credit card to facilitate transactions and buffer the responsibility of disputing charges is what they are best at. I feel like when banks just raise your limit for being a good customer is them trying to trick you into debt and fees.
BNPL schemes tend to be interest free as they're very short term.
They make their main money on merchant fees, but yes, they will absolutely screw you over if you don't pay on time.
I used one of those short term financing things to buy a video card a couple years back. I think I paid 4% interest over 3 months which wasn't bad at all considering my original plan was to put it on my credit card and pay it off over 3 months at like 20% interest. As long as you have the means to pay these things back, they aren't bad at all. If you cannot pay them back, they can and will fuck you in every orafice with no lube.