Credit cards are being used for everyday purchases

A new study shows that many people in Britain are using their credit cards for simple everyday purchases as an alternate means to carrying cash.

Fool.co.uk’s figures show that 32% of consumers admit to regularly paying for regular, everyday items with their card, with only 29% saying they actively carry cash to cover any expenditure they might have.

Of those who do opt to pay by card, 1 in 10 say their reason for doing so is to make it easier for them to watch their expenditure, which in turn will help them manage their overall finances better.

Further figures show that, on average each of us would only have around £33 cash on us at any given time, and 33% would more than likely have under £10 on them.

According to fool.co.uk’s head of personal finance, David Kuo, “Plastic can be fantastic”, however he goes on to warn that obtaining credit is not as easy any more and we may not be able to rely on credit the same way we have done in previous years. His advice is to plan ahead and try to build up some savings in case “one day when you need to pull a rabbit out of the hat, you could find that all you have is a dead duck in your pocket.”