 TITLE: Cash vs. Credit Card: Which Should I Use? CONTENT: When You Should Use Cash Over a Credit Card\n-------------------------------------------\nThe main benefits of making payments with cash are straightforward.\n*   Limiting yourself to spending only the cash you have on hand during a night out, weekend away or any other occasion can make it harder to overspend or run up credit card purchases that'll lead to costly interest charges. Sticking only to cash takes discipline, but a bit of organization can help as well. Separating your money into daily or nightly \"allowances\" can help you stretch your vacation fund, for example.\n*   The protections against overspending are much the same whether you're reaching into your wallet for cash or a debit card or you're making cash payments from your checking account via a smartphone app such as Venmo, Zelle, or a digital wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. If an app or debit card is your preference, be sure to pay close attention to your available balance: If the account linked to your app has overdraft protection, your financial institution might let you spend more than you have in the account, then charge you a fee for doing so.\n*   Paying cash sometimes earns you a discount as well. Independent merchants such as gas station owners may offer discounts on cash purchases to dissuade customers from using credit cards (which charge fees to merchants on each purchase).\nChoosing between paying with cash or a credit card isn't a life-or-death decision, but using each payment method appropriately can help you get the greatest benefit out of your credit cards, without paying more interest than you should. END