Are you sure you want to use that debit card?

My wife was somewhat surprised when I informed her (this weekend) that I was pretty sure I'd never actually used my Debit/ATM card as a debit card - had only ever used it to get cash with. Millions now use Debit cards for everything under the sun, this we know, but is that the smartest way to buy?

It definitely comes with some conveniences - no checkbook, it's fast, accepted anywhere Visa or MasterCard are, etc. But what are the drawbacks?

I ran across this article today that details a few of the drawbacks to using a debit card. The article specifically deals with debit versus credit. Now clearly, if you are buying things you can't afford with a credit card, that is bad and you need to switch to cash. But if you're going to use plastic and you have the discipline necessary to not overspend you might be surprised to find some important advantages of using a credit card instead of a debit card.

Having been on both sides of the card transaction equation, I find it annoying that a consumer would be charged for using a debit card. Why? Because the vendor got charged for the same transaction as well, so the bank is really getting it going both ways.

The difference in liabilities in the event of identity theft is also significant. The impact of $50 of liability versus $500 is huge.

The bottom line is that you've got to figure out what enables you to be the best steward of the money you have, but don't assume that debit is preferable to credit, there are issues there too.