How do you start a debit account?

Question

1. how much does it cost to start a debit account?

2. what's the difference between a debit card and a credit card?

3. is it better to get a debit card or a credit card?

Answer 1

1. how much does it cost to start a debit account?

whatever the minimum is at the specific finiancial institution for starting a checking account. as far as i know, as low as $25, as high as $500

2. what's the difference between a debit card and a credit card?

debit card use removes the money directly from you're checking account, on a time frame as long as 24hours to as short as nearly instantly - mostly towards the "instant" end of the scale. the purchasing limit is the amount of money in your account

credit cards are a loan. they give you a maximum purchase limit (as low as $100 to tens of thousands of dollars for us non-millionaires), and they defer the payments. you can pay back what you owe in monthly installments. however, the cost of that loan can get to be quite high, quite quickly. and paying just the monthly minimum will keep you in debt forever. Or at least for decades. and that is not an exaggeration.

3. is it better to get a debit card or a credit card?

get both. use the debit card to live within your means.

use the credit card once for a SMALL purchase that you can pay off immediately (in order to establish a good credit history), then - and this is very important - put the credit away (possibly in bank safe deposit box) and only use for emergencies, ie your house burns down...