Credit cards offer a credit line that you can borrow against, up to a specified limit. This is very convenient for those who want to buy something now and pay for it later. 

Debit cards, on the other hand, typically sync up with your checking account and withdraw funds in real-time at the point of transaction. And unlike credit cards, youre not borrowing funds, so you dont ever have to worry about paying interest. Both credit cards and debit cards have benefits and drawbacks to consider. 

When its beneficial to use your credit cards 

Credit cards are beneficial to use when you want to effectively build credit, have added protections, and get perks when making a purchase.   

There are two big benefits for credit cardsrewards, points/cash back. This is a great way to get discounts, says John Pfisterer, chief financial officer at Supernet, a full-service card network. This is exclusive to credit cards and funded by higher transaction costs that merchants pay for the use of the acceptance of the credit cards.

Aside from rewards, credit card benefits may include:

• Getting fraud and payment protection. Credit cards may offer more robust protections for consumers in instances of fraud or if there are payment errors. Another benefit is the right around charge backsthe ability to dispute a chargeand have it automatically reversed while its being investigated by the credit card companies, explains Pfisterer  Most debit cards may do something like this, but its not baked into their rules.
• Building credit. Your credit score is based on borrowing money, so credit cards can be leveraged to build credit when payments are made on time. Credit cards are a type of revolving credit which may add to your credit mix, one of the factors that affect your credit.  
• Having travel insurance or rental car coverage. Some reward cards dont just offer cash back or points that can be used for travel or money in your account. There are added protections you might get such as travel insurance or rental car coverage. 

Generally, the most benefits are offered through rewards cards that may or may not come with an annual fee. But even a basic credit card with no fee can offer more security against fraudulent activity and be beneficial for your credit history if you use a small portion of your limit and pay off balances in a timely manner. 

Lets take a closer look at the core benefits of using a credit card. 

1. To earn rewards while you shop 

Credit cards arent just a form of payment, but help consumers earn and save when they make purchases. This can happen in a variety of ways that put money back into the hands of consumers or benefits from rewards which can offer various redemption options. Some of the top rewards when you shop include:  

• Introductory bonuses. Many credit cards offer attractive sign-up bonuses for new customers. You typically need to meet a specific spending threshold during a set period of time to get the bonus. These bonuses may be cash back or miles that are designed to entice you to sign up for the card. But if you dont meet the spending requirements within the set timeframe, you wont be eligible for the bonus. These intro offers are commonly used by many travel hackers who utilize credit card rewards to score free or low-cost trips. 
• Cash back. Inflation is hurting everyones wallet right now, so being able to earn money back while making everyday purchases can be incredibly helpful. Instead of putting more time at your job or a side hustle, you may be able to earn some cash back using a rewards credit card without additional effort. Plus, some credit cards offer a higher percentage on certain categories like groceries or gas, which can help soften the blow of higher prices. 
• Credit card points. Some credit cards allow users to accumulate points that have many redemption options, such as gift cards, hotels, flights, or cash back. 
• Miles for traveling and vacationing. Another one of the top credit card perks is miles to be used for travel. Many of these cards are tied to specific airlines, where youll earn miles and other rewards each time you fly with that particular company. Miles can be redeemed to cover the total or partial cost of a trip, making a vacation to your dream destination more in reach. Additionally, you may be able to use miles to book experiences, hotels, or even make a donation. In other words, there may be some flexibility with how you use your miles as well. 

2. To protect your money 

Credit cards can offer an additional layer of protection if they end up in the wrong hands since theyre not tied to your bank account. Visa and Mastercard both offer zero-liability coverage, which means that cardholders wont be held responsible if there are fraudulent charges on your account. 

Plus, if your credit card is used by someone else because its lost and stolen, the maximum financial loss is up to $50, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). On the other hand, debit cards may have steeper financial consequences depending on when you file a report. 

According to the FTC, if the loss is reported within two days of the initial loss or theft then the total loss is up to $50. After the two-day time period up to a total of 60 days, the loss can increase to $500. Whats worse is that after 60 days, your loss may be up to the amount withdrawn. 

ShirleyAnn M. Robertson, financial professional at Prudential suggests consumers take precautions ahead of time. I think part of you being proactive in protecting your finances, is having these calls with that credit card company before something happens. So plan for the worst hope for the best, but calling to say, hey, if there is a situation of fraud, what is your procedure, that way you are clear on what theyll do and how theyll help you.

3. To build credit 

You dont necessarily want to take out a loan simply to build credit. So one way to build or boost your credit score is through use of a credit card. More specifically, by using it in a smart way which means showing that you can build a solid repayment history and maintain low balances. In other words, keep up with on-time payments and set a target to keep credit utilizationthe percent of credit you useless than 30%. 

What the credit bureaus are scoring with your score is your reliability in borrowing money and paying it back on time. A debit cardbecause youre not borrowingdoes not help you along those lines, says Pfisterer.

If youre concerned about overspending, charge your gym membership or a small recurring payment on your credit card. This strategy helps avoid temptation to overspend while still gaining the positive credit-building benefits. Credit card payments get reported about every month to the credit bureaus Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. 

4. To cover large purchases 

If you have a large purchase and can pay it off by the due date, you can give yourself a buffer with a credit card. 

In the credit card world, we kind of have two groups of consumerstransactors, who pay their credit card off in full every week. And then you have revolvers who carry a balance, explains Pfisterer. If you are a transactor you should probably use your credit card for every transaction you can. The reason? Your bank is giving you an interest free loan. You will not have to pay for it until 3035 days later. Interest free. For a group of the population, a credit card is a fantastic way to get interest free money while holding on to your own cash until it is time to pay that bill.

In other words, you buy yourself more time and may improve your overall cash flow. If you cant pay off the large balance by the due date, youll be hit with interest that can add up quickly. Credit cards can keep you in the debt cycle and be tough to get out of. The flip side is if youre paying your balance off slowly. That interest for the purchase you made on the 1st of the month is at a fairly high rate, says Pfisterer. 

If its a large purchase and youre paying the minimum, the interest could be significant. However, some consumers may qualify for a credit card with a 0% introductory purchase APR. In that case, interest may not accrue during that introductory period, which may be for six months or more. 

5. To track how you spend 

You may not consider a credit card as part of your budgeting strategy, but if you use a single card for your purchases you can get a snapshot of your spending and gain invaluable insights. Part of budgeting is tracking spending, and a credit card may be able to do that at a higher level than a debit card. 

For example, credit card companies may categorize your spending so you can see how much youre paying for groceries or on healthcare or entertainment. Using a credit card when making payments is good for tracking expenses and can help you be more mindful of your spending if you check in regularly and see all your transactions in one place. 

Using one card allows me to be a bit more cognizant and aware of my frequency of use, and also how much Im charging says Robertson. Using one card allows me to be far more present. If Im using multiple cards, Im not seeing the total hit to me anywhere. So having one card allows me to really be focused on all my online purchases. And also if there is an error, I can catch it much quicker, because its one card versus having multiple cards to follow and track.

When to use a debit card instead 

Credit cards come chock full of benefits and protections that may help consumers in a variety of ways. Many hotels or rental car providers may require a credit card to check in or may decide to hold funds using your debit card. Even so, there may be times when using a debit card is preferable. 

• Youre paying off credit card debt. If youre in too deep with credit card debt, you may want to hold off on using credit cards for a while. Using a debit card can help you spend only what you have and may be a better budgeting option until you address the underlying cause (such as overspending or not enough income). 
• You want to avoid the temptation to spend more. Some studies show that consumers may be tempted to spend more with a credit card or unknowingly be driven by rewards. A debit card may be a preferable option if youre concerned about overspending and charging close to the limit. 
• You keep opening new credit accounts to meet your needs. Credit cards can be useful when managed properly. But if you need to open several credit cards to manage your spending or needs, you could end up deep in debt and harm your credit. 
• You forget to make payments by the due date. A critical component of responsible credit card use is making payments by the due date. If youre unable to do that consistently, you can ding your credit and may be hit with late fees and interest. You can sign up for automatic payments to avoid this issue but if that leads to overdrafting your account, youll have another issue on your hands. A debit card doesnt require you to make payments so may be preferable in this case. 
• You feel more comfortable with a debit card. Some people arent comfortable using a credit card and simply feel better using a debit card. I find that the emotional side is just as strong, if not more than the actual financial sense in doing something, says Robertson. Sometimes if it means from an emotional standpointI just dont trust myself with credit cards, Id rather use my debit. If its gone from my bank account, I dont have the money, I wont keep chargingAnd you know, from that perspective, Im 100% okay because that makes that individual from an emotional standpoint feel good. 

Knowing what protections you get out of a credit card or debit card as well as knowing the risks involved with each can help you make an informed decision when it comes to your spending.

Gomez shared her bipolar diagnosis in 2020 on an Instagram livestream with Miley Cyrus, and has also struggled with depression and anxiety. In 2015, she also opened up about being diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease. 

I am grateful to be alive Let me make a promise. I am going to stop living like this, Gomez says in the films trailer. Clearly Im still here to use whatever I have to help someone else. She hopes the film will resonate with people who have felt their stories around mental health were silenced. 

Its kind of like Im sacrificing myself for a greater purpose, she says of her documentary to Rolling Stone. Gods honest truth, I almost didnt put it out. The actress continues in the interview: Im going to be very open with everybody about this: Ive been to four treatment centers. 

The films director, Alek Keshishian, is well known for following Madonnas journey and creating the 1991 Truth or Dare documentary. 

Any preliminary ideas that this might be a puff piece or vanity project are shattered five minutes in, when the mental anguish that caused Gomez to cancel her 2016 Revival tour early and check herself into a treatment facility is on full, painful, tearful display, Rolling Stone writes about the film. 

Gomez, who went from childhood actor, to singer and recently starred in the second season of the Hulu Series Only Murders in The Building has been outspoken about mental health on the public stage. She launched Wondermind this year, a media company focused on breaking the mental health stigma, according to the site.

I think its very brave to speak up about your own journey. At the same time that it can feel debilitating, it can feel empowering when you find the right space to share your story, Gomez says in an interview on the platform.

The entrepreneur also launched Rare Beauty in 2020, which donates a portion of its sales to the Rare Impact Fund, which works to increase access to mental health care for young people. Shes also met with President Joe Biden to discuss developing a school curriculum centered on mental health, and she was part of the first ever Youth Action Forum on Mental Health in conjunction with the White House, including First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy earlier this year.

The documentary follows Gomez, 30, through all of her ups and downs starting when she was 24. 

Watching it is like eavesdropping on a 95-minute therapy session with the artist, writes a New York Times review. 

Gomez spoke with People Magazine at the premiere of her documentary on how she will continue to put mental health at the forefront. 

Im wanting to be as proactive as I can, she said in the interview. 

The documentary is available to stream November 4 on AppleTV+.

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Sometimes it would happen on a day when her mother, who is 86 and has dementia, had a doctors appointment and needed to bathe. Sometimes it would be on Thanksgiving or Christmas when family had come to stay.

It was sickening, literally a headache and it disrupted everything, she said. Out of nowhere, the water would be gone, and wed have no idea when itd be back.

While failures of big city water systems attract the attention, its small communities like Keystone, West Virginia that more often are left unprotected by destitute and unmaintained water providers. Small providers rack up roughly twice as many health violations as big cities on average, an analysis of thousands of records over the last three years by the Associated Press shows. In that time, small water providers violated the Safe Drinking Water Acts health standards nearly 9,000 times. They were also frequently the worst performers. Federal law allows authorities to force changes on water utilities, but they rarely do, even for the worst offenders.

Were talking about things that weve known in drinking water for a century, that we have an expectation in this country that everybody should be afforded, said Chad Seidel, president of a water consulting company.

The worst water providers can have such severe problems that residents are told they cant drink the water. For ten solid years Dickerson and 175 neighbors in the tiny, majority Black community had to boil all their water. That length of time is nearly unheard of such warnings usually last only for days.

The Safe Drinking Water Act was signed into law in 1974 and initially protected Americans against 22 contaminants, including arsenic. Nearly half a century later, evolving science has broadened the coverage to more than 90 substances, and strengthened standards.

The miracle is that most water systems keep up 94% of them comply with health standards.

After years of problems, Keystone finally got hooked up to a new water system last December, McDowell Public Service District, which focuses on upgrading systems in coal communities. Deteriorating water mains were replaced. A non-proft called DigDeep helped pay to connect homes to the new infrastructure.

When a water utility doesnt treat water properly or has high levels of a contaminant, states are supposed to enforce the law. They usually give communities time to fix problems, and often they do. If there is intransigence or delay, a state authority can escalate action and impose fines. Yet in many towns, that doesnt go well; there is no money to pay the fines. Some places struggle year after year.

The EPA stresses the vast majority of systems do provide safe water. For those having trouble, the agency has increased technical assistance, inspections and enforcement. Those efforts have decreased the number of systems consistently committing health violations, according to Carol King, an attorney in the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The top concern of the water industry itself is funding for infrastructure, according to a survey.

Recruitment of professionals to run small water systems is one main issue. The largely white, male workforce is aging.

Earlier in his career, Tim Wilson, a water manager, spent time running the treatment plant in Wahpeton, Iowa, a community of just over 400 that expands when vacationers rush in during the summertime.

Small, rural communities have a ridiculously hard time recruiting certified operators, he said. Once they are trained, they can be lured away by better pay and benefits elsewhere.

The job demands can be heavy: in Wahpeton, Wilson not only ran the treatment plant, he plowed snow and testified as a zoning expert at local government meetings.

People in Ferriday, Louisiana had to get their water from the National Guard for four months back in 1999. The towns water treatment plant, which had struggled to keep the water from turning brown, had completely failed. Those four months left a mark.

I havent drunk the water since, said Jameel Green, 42, who has lived in Ferriday most of his life. He now makes sure his two girls, ages 16 and eight, dont drink the water either.

A new water treatment plant was supposed to fix Ferridays issues. But staff at the new plant struggled to find the right mix of chemicals, according to Rev. James Smith Sr., who was brought in to help with the issue. The state fined the town $455,265. No payment has been made. Rev. Smith said the water has improved significantly with increased testing and pilot studies.

Without a lot more money and more aggressive intervention in the worst places, experts say many Americans will continue to endure an expensive search for drinkable water, or else theyll drink water that is potentially unsafe.

In my view, this is a desperate problem, said Manny Teodoro, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who focuses on public policy and water.

___

Phillis reported from Ferriday, Louisiana, and St. Louis. Fassett reported from Seattle.

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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However, longer-term structural cost pressures, like de-globalization and climate change, are not easily addressed by monetary policy. Instead, the U.S. government should lead by making investments that crowd-in private sector capital in three areas: housing, labor, and energy. By doing so, the U.S. can put a lid on inflation over the longer term and promote economic growth.

Supply chain frictions, labor market mismatches, semiconductor shortages, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine all combined to add fuel to the inflation fire that had been stoked by excess demand. Monetary policy cannot directly alleviate these supply problems: it largely acts by reducing demand in times of high inflation and increasing consumption in times of lower inflation. CHIPS, the bipartisan infrastructure package, and most importantly the Inflation Reduction Act, were critical starts that will increase production potential over time. Yet these pieces of legislation still fall short of addressing other supply-side constraints and shortages such as in housing.

A key illustration of the limits of monetary policy is shelter inflation, which is growing at an annual rate of 6.6% and comprised over 50% of Septembers month-to-month core CPI price change. The most significant driver of rental inflation is supply of rentable housing. Well before the pandemic, the U.S. was enduring a shortage of rental properties. The pandemic wreaked havoc on landlords and renters. As workers transitioned back to offices, landlords seized the opportunity to recoup losses by sharply increasing rental rates. Historically, double-digit rent increases were uncommon as renters could instead purchase a home, but house prices in the U.S. increased 43% from January 2020 to August 2022, making a first-time purchase inaccessible for many. The recent softening in U.S. housing markets on the back of spiraling mortgage rates doesnt help renters as the monthly payment to buy a home has increased despite lower selling prices. More generally, the link between home prices and rents is weak; the larger driver is constrained supply of rentable housing.

The monetary policy pathway to reducing shelter inflation is to induce a recession, reduce wages, and therefore dampen demand for housing. This is a perverse, painful way to deal with such a critical issue. Increasing the supply of housing would bring down rental inflation and mitigate enduring shortages. In cities across the country, zoning restrictions have suffocated development of new housing stock. Many of these zoning laws should be overhauled to incentivize housing development. Bold options like making federal funding conditional on cities changing their zoning laws should be considered. Additional steps should also be taken to help construction companies source employees and materials, and where feasible, increase the supply of public housingall of which are far more effective, equitable, and permanent ways of reducing housing prices than creating a recession.

Similarly, demand for labor outstrips supply, demonstrated by the ratio of job openings to unemployment peaking at two to one over summer 2022, and rapid, unsustainable wage growth. Yet, there is an estimated net deficit of up to 1.8 million working-age immigrants relative to 2010s trend, because of the pandemic and crippling delays in visa processing. The executive branch of government can improve this situation without Congressional authorization. Simultaneously, both prime-age male and female labor force participation have declined. A range of policies can help people on the margin of the workforce return, including greater support for childcare, tackling the opioid epidemic, and treating long COVID-19, which has sidelined as many as 2 to 4 million workers. More workers will help reduce wage growth, cool inflation overall, and boost headline economic growth.

Finally, the next decade of energy production will be key for price stability, geopolitical security, and climate change. The Inflation Reduction Act is a promising start, but to reduce energy costs, and adapt to a changing climate, the U.S. government should ease permitting requirements that stymy supply. A litany of local, state, and federal regulations slows energy infrastructure construction.

One 2018 study identified the detrimental effects of excessive bureaucracy finding that a permit required for renewable energy in the West and Southwest U.S. took an average of 400 days due to reviews under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. If the U.S. is to meet its Paris Accord pledges along with the potential of the Inflation Reduction Act, permitting reform is urgently needed. Senator Joe Manchins permitting plan would be a useful step in accelerating the growth of energy supply. Other reforms, like easing regulations to build interstate transmission lines, reducing the time for local governments to effectively wield vetoes over energy infrastructure, and investing in greater R&D into cutting-edge energy technology will improve the ability of the private sector to respond to market dynamics and incentives.

These energy reforms can provide both price stability and energy security. By raising domestic energy supplies, the U.S. will help wean itself and allies off unreliableand often unsavoryproviders of oil and gas, strengthening national security and depriving adversaries of economic leverage and cash flow.

Clearly, monetary policy is not the only tool for fighting inflation over the medium term. Acting as though it is leads to perverse policy choices that diminish growth potential. Using fiscal policy effectively can bring down prices, raise growth potential, and help the U.S. secure geopolitical stability. CHIPS, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and the IRA should be the beginning, not the end, of the renaissance of industrial policy in the United States.

Ron Temple is the head of U.S. equity at Lazard Asset Management. Apratim Gautam is a macroeconomic and policy analyst at Lazard Asset Management.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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