What Debit Card Companies Don't Tell You by David Bach

My last column, "What Credit Card companies Don't Want You to Know," received an overwhelmingly positive response, with close to 4,000 comments posted in a matter of hours. It's exciting to see so many Yahoo! Finance readers taking an active role by posting feedback and suggestions.

One reader named Carol wrote, "I do not use credit cards because like a lot of others I got into a lot of trouble using them. After digging myself out, I cut them up and now I only use cash or my debit (bank account) card with a MasterCard logo."

A Debit Card Boom

I can relate. I also switched to a debit card after getting myself deep into credit card debt when I was in college. By using only my debit card, I became more disciplined about spending.

Carol and I aren't alone: Debit card use today is at an all-time high. You may be surprised to know that consumers are actually using debit cards more often than credit cards now. In fact, according to market research firm Mintel, debit card use surpassed a trillion dollars last year.

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