ROUND 1 - Acceptability                                                                                                                                       OK, so it is universally understood that most places will take cash; Franklin, Grant, and Jackson, just about everyone accepts cold-hard cash as a form of payment for all debts, whether they be public or private, no matter where your journey leads you one thing you can count on in life is that everyone wants money. But what if we are away someplace the dollar isn't accepted? Sure it's easier to pay with credit, but those transaction fees add up, plus remember you had better not forget to call your credit card company before your trip as they could flag your overseas spending as fraudulent and lock your account. Of course, there are those mom-and-pop restaurants or local tour guides that may not even accept cards, so it's always prudent to keep cash on hand.

That bring us to portability & convenience. A credit card takes up very little of your wallets real estate as compared to all those coins and bills, and swiping is super convenient, but depending on the size of the purchase it can slow down the transaction which isn't so pleasant for customers behind you in line. Also, there is the fact that some merchants are particular about which cards they accept and which ones they won’t. This creates a potential dilemma that now I need to have a variety of different cards on hand. To make matters worse some merchants go the cash-only route to avoid paying fees to the card companies at all well that seals it the fact that you can pay for pretty much anything with physical currency.                                                                                                                                            Round 1 goes to Cash in terms of acceptability 

ROUND 2 – Safety                                                                                                                                                  No matter who you are or where you are going, having large amounts of cash on you at all times isn't exactly the wisest behavior. Flashy shows of wealth can attract the wrong attention and if that money is stolen or lost, then it is probably gone for good. Credit cards arrive armed with various forms of purchase protection written into their policies, or at the very least, they have such programs available to their customers that way the victim is not on the hook for unauthorized purchases. However, stolen credit cards and identity theft can create chaos in our lives, even with the credit card company protocols in place, it can take a while to recover from all the damages you may suffer from identity theft. Even with all of that the use of plastic has become too prevalent and persuasive in our society nowadays, especially with the availability of debit cards and ATMs to access your cash when you really need too. Round 2 goes to Credit by a narrow margin

ROUND 3 - Anonymity                                                                                                                                        Clearly for those who prefer to remain “off the radar” using cash is the only way to go. I won’t go further with the Safety threat as detailed in Round 2, but there is also the concept of not leaving a paper trail behind. And we’re not talking just talking about from a safety point of view, we’re talking about Big Brother, or more accurately, Big Corporation, watching over all of your purchases. Ever been online and looked at an item to then only have ads for that item start popping up online all around you? Kind of a creepy feeling. And yes, you are being watched every time you make a purchase online.                                                                                                                                    Round 3 winner is Cash by a wide margin

ROUND 4 - Rewards                                                                                                                                              There are benefits to using cash, sure, but let's discuss the potential rewards; Paying for something immediately, for example an expensive dinner, or a pair of concert tickets, prevents you from potentially having to pay interest down the road, but only if you are not paying the debt off at the next billing date. You may get a discount if you're paying for a large purchase in cash, but that's about it. Credit cards offer many incentives including reward points or even cash back. The downside to this, of course, is the interest that you have to pay over time for the purchases. But if you're able to keep track of your spending, have savings available, and always pay on time, then using a credit card to gain those additional rewards may be the way to go.                                                                                          Round 4 goes to Credit but with a warning for the judges

ROUND 5 – Credit Score                                                                                                                                        In case you were not aware you might be surprised at just how many aspects of your life your credit report can affect, because it's not just about whether a bank will lend you money. So before we start judging this round let’s look at just what a credit score is anyway? It is a number that represents how trustworthy you are in terms of paying off your debt. There are many factors that determine the score; like how many credit cards are in your name, if you carry a balance on those cards, and by how much you pay down your debt every month. Your score partly depends on your account balances versus your credit limits, if you never charge anything then you aren't showing lenders whether you're trustworthy or not. In that case your credit score could go down, or simply disappear altogether. Banks may even close your credit cards, if you have zero balance and never charge anything, and that would make things difficult for you. Because down the road you are probably going to want to make some large purchases; A Car, Home, etc…and trying to do that with no, or very low credit can be problematic and more expensive                                                Round 5 goes to Credit as well, but only from the long view standpoint

Our Winner: Credit Cards                                                                                                                                    Ultimately credit cards are a necessary evil. They're an important building block to help you establish credit, meaning that in the future you'll be able to secure a mortgage to buy a house, or get a car loan to buy a new ride. Cash may be king, but by a score of 3 to 2 our judges give this battle to Credit

On Thursday, February 25th at 6:30 PM we will be going over this, but also how buying versus renting affects alot of the decisions we ar emaking on a daily basis. Visit our website:

www.ariesfoundation.org/events to REGISTER and learn more