The other day, I received a prepaid Visa card in the mail as a rebate on a printer I had recently bought. When using the card, I realized that I felt safer than I do when using my bank card. My bank card is linked to my savings account as well, and anyone who got hold of it could potentially wipe me out. I can see why some people would prefer to have a prepaid Visa Debit card such as the Vision Premier Prepaid Visa® Card.

In my household, there’s more than one reason to get such a card. About eight years ago, my husband got overdrawn at his bank and there was a big snafu. He didn’t bother getting it worked out right away. By the time he decided to straighten out the mess, it had become even more snarled up. So as a consequence, he can’t get a bank account at any bank! This is a huge drag, because that means he can’t buy me any of the online goodies that I’d like to have.

As soon as I saw the Vision card, I immediately told him about it. He thinks it’s a great idea. You can even treat the card like your own personal bank, if you want. You can have your paychecks direct deposited onto the card, for example. And of course, you can use the card online, or to pay bills or any of the other things that you would normally use a credit card to do.

The way the economy is going, and with interest rates the way they are, I think having a debit card is a great personal finance solution.