Why You Should Use Your Debit Card at the Checkout Line

For purchases, choosing your Radiant CU debit card over another credit card is usually the right decision. Here are some reasons why use should use Radiant’s debit card when you’re at the checkout line.

Radiant Credit Union’s Nickel Back Program

Radiant’s Nickel Back Debit Card automatically pays you 5 cents every time you use it for a signature purchase! Radiant checking account holders are already automatically enrolled, so there are no forms to complete.

• Earn 5 cents every time you use your debit card for a signature purchase
• No minimum purchase amount
• Nickels are automatically paid daily, directly into your Radiant checking account

Even-Up Savings Account

With Radiant’s Even-Up Savings Account, your spare change really adds up! And, with an Annual Percentage Yield of 4.00% on balances up to $4,000.00, you’ll really be able to watch those savings grow!

Open a Radiant CU Even-Up Savings account, then make any purchase with your Radiant Nickel Back Debit card. Your purchase is automatically evened-up to the next dollar, and the balance is transferred from your checking account into your Even-Up savings account.

• Even-Ups are accumulated and transferred daily as a single transaction.
• If you make multiple purchases on the same day, your statement will show one combined Even-Up Savings transfer for that day.
• If the available amount in the checking account is less than $25, the Even-Up transfer will not happen.
• Deposits to the account are only from your debit card Even-Up transaction change. No other deposits are allowed. The only way for money to go into Even-Up Savings is through the Even-Up program. Commercial debit cards/accounts are not eligible.

Staying out of debt

With a credit card, you’re spending money you don’t have. You’re borrowing money from the credit card provider, and that debt is due at the end of the month. If you can’t pay it, you can wind up with interest and financing charges stacking debt on top of debt.

Bankruptcy courts are full of stories about people living paycheck-to-paycheck on credit cards. They spend as much as they make every month. Then, one month, they miss work due to illness or injury. A sudden, unexpected expense crops up. They miss one payment, then get hit with a late fee and an interest rate charge. This is the snowball that starts the avalanche. Now their debt starts accumulating faster than they can pay it off. This is how ordinary, responsible people end up filing bankruptcy to dismiss a debt of two or three times their annual salary.

Using a debit card means you’re spending money you already have. You’re not racking up debt and you’re not living beyond your means. Using a debit card forces you to practice disciplined budgeting and sensible spending. You won’t have the capacity to spend beyond your finances. You can keep the credit card for emergency spending only, which will keep you from tripping into serious financial trouble.

Responsible financial decision-making can take many forms. Using a debit card, credit card, or cash sensibly can put you on the path to financial security. The trick isn’t what payment form you choose, but rather the discipline of your spending habits. Living within your means is the real secret to building wealth.