American debt: Are you in deeper or ahead of the average?

[Ms. Toad]

36. I prefer the benefit of keeping my money in the bank earning a smidgen of interest for an extra 30 days.

Most pre-paid debit cards I'm aware of charge a fee to purchase (I don't know about reloading). That net cost + losing the interest free loan make that option a no-go for me.

We're actually carrying cash more recently - a number of places are charging a service fee for using cards. When that is the case, we pay in cash. I use cards because they are a net financial positive for me. I don't mind that places are now charging a service fee - it has always seemed unfair that the fee paid by merchants to the banks was spread among all customers, not just the ones who pay by credit card. But it means I have to pay more attention to how much cash is in my wallet.