I would never recommend making heavy use of credit if you're coming up lean at the end of every month. But we do have enough that we could pay off last month's credit card bill and pay for this month's spending.

Prepaid cards. Good?

Matt Powers is flattered, but not swayed, by American Express' advances.

First you have to have this revelation: Spending money now to save money later does not make sense. It's illogical. Points systems make you think that spending extra on your credit card, right now, is a responsible thing to do. It isn't. It took me six years to figure out why.

• Wine stopper

I remember exactly how it went down: I was at a Washington Capitals game, and a man in front of a folding table with lots of forms and important paperwork on it said he'd give me a free t-shirt if I signed up for a Capital One card. I like free things. I may have been drinking. I signed my name and selected Van Gogh's "Starry Night" as my background image.

Did you know that American money cards are useless at many retailers in Europe because they are just pieces of plastic and not pieces of plastic with a chip embedded in them? FOR EXAMPLE, in London and Paris, you can't rent public bikes because they require a chip and a pin! And we don't have chips and pins! It's annoying!

You know who wouldn't stand for any of this? Elizabeth Warren.