Debit Cards Are They Still Worth it or Should You Go Back to Cash?

By now you have probably heard all about the suggested Debit Card hike. More and more families are starting to feel the financial pinch, and now banks are making it even worse. Of course you still have the option to switch banks, but how long do you really have before all banks choose to go this route? The fact is that no mater what bank you choose to go with you can still end up getting slammed with fees. When it comes to debit cards however, many families use these on a daily basis. However if you are going to be charged a monthly fee for it is it still worth it? Well after speaking with several families on this topic, I came up with a list of pros and cons on the debit card debate. Look for yourself at the results and maybe this will help in your decision as to whether you should stick with debit, or go to cash.

Pros

I have to say that the number of pros I received were not that many. To start with one pro was the fact that you can still use your debit card instead of going to the ATM machine. Some felt that paying a once a month fee is not that bad compared with the fee that you have to pay every single time you use the ATM machine. Although I don't think that many realized if you use the debit card at the ATM, you will pay the ATM fee and the monthly fee combined if your bank charges for the ATM use. If they don't charge you to use the ATM, than it may be beneficial. Another pro that was mentioned is that it may actually help you to save more money. Especially since you will want to use your debit card less, and this may act as sort of a forced savings.

Cons

As you have probably already guessed there are plenty of cons to be listed. The first one is that you will obviously be losing more of your money. Since so many families are already losing plenty of money already, all this does is add to the amount loss each month. Many of the families I spoke with don't like the idea of paying to access their own hard earned money. Also families do not like the idea of being charged fees for just about all of their bank transactions. Many are now starting to feel like the better option is to just take your cash out once a month and budget accordingly. So I guess this means we can expect longer lines at the bank windows.