I think it's sorta funny how when you pay with *plastic they ask you: "Debit, or credit?"; because, as denoted in a dictionary, they are polar opposites; yet, as connotated in popular culture, they differ only in the time it takes to be charged, that is to say to incur a loss.
So, in certain ways, it can be said one is wiser to chose "debit"; which, I find, deeply ironic:
In our culture One gets to choose either debit or credit; and, in our culture, One can be wiser to choose debit.
This, and more, withstanding; I tend to try to use cash.
A debit is to incur a loss, A credit is to incur a gain.