Protect your privacy, take profits from banks, help the Post Office [View all]

Quit using credit and debit cards any place you can. Use cash and checks.

When you use a credit card, banks make anywhere from 1.75-3.5% of that transaction. Debit cards when used with a PIN are a flat fee- but only when you enter a PIN.

So if you go out of your way to shop at a local small business, then hand them a credit card, you just took 2-3% out of their pocket and gave it to the banks. Use cash!

When you use cards, everything you buy, every place you buy can be monitored, and can be brought up in later investigations by the government or sold by the banks to companies that want to build a profile on you for whatever reason.

If you mail a check to pay a bill instead of using a card, you help the post office and you help create jobs because people must manually open and process that mail.

Don't buy checks from the bank- you can buy them from independent printers. A bank doesn't charge per check, and they take more work to process, so instead of making them money when you use a card you cost them money when you use a check.

Yeah, it is a bit more hassle. I know it is a pain to walk in and pay or gas- but it would make a big difference if we all did.