Hey guys. I am from Germany and I've been a long time reader of this subreddit. I like to read about tips for managing my finances but there is one topic I can't quite get behind: multiple credit cards.
Of course I know how credit cards work and we have them in Germany as well but let me explain how it usually works for us. When you open a bank account you get a debit card which directly takes the money out of your account. Those cards are accepted mainly in the EU so most people don't really use credit cards. I have a visa debit card which combines the best of both worlds for me. It can be used like any real credit card (visa acceptance online etc) but the money will be taken out of my account instantly. That way I always have an overview of how much I spent and how much I will be able to spend. Most banks give you a small credit you can use when your account has insufficient funds. But because the bank provides it, you can use it with your "European debit card" (different from my visa debit) as well. So from my point of view the only difference to "your" credit cards is the bill you have to pay in contrast to separate automated payments for each transaction. Of course you can have proper credit cards here as well. Usually you only need them for renting a car, paying for overseas traveling etc. Because of this rare case of use many people just stay with their debit cards. Btw they are free as well. Credit cards have a monthly or annual fee as usual.
So finally my request. Can you explain a little to me why many people in this subreddit deal with managing multiple cards with different limits and go through the struggle of balancing one card with another? Is there some comparable model to the one I explained? Isn't it hard to loose track of your payments on multiple cards? Don't you always have to decide which card to use for every payment?
Would love to have some interesting discussion :)
Submitted August 27, 2017 at 05:58AM by dartemiev http://ift.tt/2wSmJpF
