On 1/7/2016 5:35 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2016-01-07 1:44 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On 1/7/2016 12:09 PM, Gary wrote:
>
>> Correct, the merchant pays a fee. You just pay higher prices for
>> everything as the merchant has it build into the selling price.
>
>
> The flip side of that is that in many cases the vendor makes a sale they
> might not have had the customer not had magic money in the form of a
> debit card. If we forget to get something out of the freezer or forget
> to stop at a store for something in the middle of the week we can got
> out for dinner without having budgeted for it in the weekly cash.

That is true, especially for big ticket items. OTOH, many people no
longer carry cash and could not buy a burger with what is in their
pocket. With plastic you have access to thousands of dollars.

I also know a couple of people that carry neither as a method of budget
control. Hey, if it works, do it.