I’m in the same age bracket and hole-digging enthusiasm bracket as you but recently became aware of the dangers of this whimsical pastime! [1]
That’s not to dissuade you or anyone else from doing it (I have continued!), but I think everyone should be aware of the very real danger. As they say, knowing is half the battle!
I mean, I’m just saying the danger exists (which is what “real” means to me) and people should be aware of it. Not that people shouldn’t dig big holes. I thought that was clear in my original comment but evidently not.
Let’s just take 95% as a true figure … first of all the 5% you don’t get back is a straight up loss. The rewards you get at the end of the month are fine (eg cash back) but you’ve missed out on earning interest on the money you “get back”
Card network fees (the part credit card users don't get back) are about the same for the European payment systems. For card users on net there is essentially no difference.
The interest argument of course is nonsense because the opportunity cost ia outweighed ~50x by the interest benefit you receive from the entire purchase going on credit vs just the 2% interchange.
You are able to buy now, but not pay until 30 days later, paying no interest unless paid in full. Which means YOU earn interest on your money during that period...
I wonder if it’s crossover from typing http, ftp, etc. I know the practice has fallen to the wayside in consumer computing but I’d buy that most people have more muscle memory for typing _tp than _pt in a semi-standalone context
Quebec is not like the US in that regard, you won't find a town here that only has a Walmart/Costco. Those are limited to more developed urban centers that have plenty of alternatives.
In this region, there aren't many food/goods deserts.
Even the nowhereville my mom lives in has an H-E-B, Homeless Despot home improvement palace, pharmacy, and greasy spoon restaurants.
I have seen grocery store "deserts" in tiny towns (<2k people) populated by dollar stores while grocery stores are 10-40 miles away. That's the price of living in rural areas. There are other areas in the US where Walmart came in, destroyed local independent businesses, and left.
I believe iOS 15 includes a little-touted feature: "Voice Isolation" mode; I haven't tested it comprehensively, but other similar technology (e.g. RNNoise [1]) has very impressive results in the scenarios you allude to.
