Is it smart to memorize your credit card number?
Money recently launched Dollar Scholar, a personal finance newsletter written by a 27-year-old who still doesn’t know: me.
Every week, I’ll talk to experts about a money question I have, whether it’s “Are online banks sketchy?” or “How many credit cards do I need?” As I learn, I’ll share simple ways to improve your financial life…and post fun memes.
This is (part of) issue 11. Check it out below, then subscribe to get future editions of Dollar Scholar every Wednesday.
It’s officially fall, which *knuckles crack* means sweater shopping. Like any good millennial, I intend to redo my wardrobe by avoiding all human contact and favoring online purchases. Number 7 taught me not to store my payment info in Chrome for security reasons, but I dread having to locate my wallet every time I want to pay with a cable.
So I wondered… do I have to memorize my credit card number?
When I researched the internet, I found mixed reviews. On reddit, some users say they memorized up to six credit cards just by using them frequently. Others argue that it’s unnecessary, since most stores won’t accept recited numbers instead of cards anyway. At least a blogger says he’s too scared of being kidnapped and then having his number tortured. (An extreme case, but my brain works that way too, so I appreciate his input.)
Stephen Fratamico, who runs a website on learning strategies, told me he memorized his number about a year ago and was happy with it. He used the major system, or number and letter system, to memorize numbers.
It is described in this Publish, but basically you’re dividing your number into pairs and making words out of consonants that the numbers match. Then you come up with a story that uses those words in order. Every time you need your number, you remember the phrase and work backwards.
It’s a little hard to explain, so let me try to give you an example. Say my credit card number is 4785 2267 6830 1641 (IT IS NOT, I got it from fakepersongenerator.comrelax).
Following Fratamico’s instructions, I perform the following steps:
- Divide it into pairs ➞ 47, 85, 22, 67, 68, 30, 16, 41.
- Form words for numbers using this table agreed ➞ 47 = 4 and 7, or the R sound with the K sound, so let’s use the word “rake”. 85 = 8 and 5, or the F sound with the L sound, so let’s use “fall”. etc
- Build a story, making each word action the next so I can identify the keywords ➞ “We needed a rake for the fall, but Nana told a joke so I gave it to her a mass, which caused the dog to catch a rat.” (It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense as long as it’s memorable!)
- Memorize the story.
- The end!
(FYI: This system works for most numbers, not just your credit or debit cards. “Use it to memorize each President’s number [ex. who was the 21st president]the number of each leg of your favorite musician’s new tour or the ranking of the 50 best movies of all time according to IMDb,” Fratamico tells me over email.)
Fratamico said remembering its payment information was convenient. But I was curious how it might affect my buying habits, so I called Ross Steinman, a psychology professor at Widener University in Pennsylvania who studies consumer behavior.
After telling me it was one of the weirdest topics he’s ever been asked to comment on—which I took as a compliment—Steinman said he thought memorizing a card number could be beneficial in emergency situations. At the same time, however, it “could result in increased purchases”.
“When we think about shopping online, we often engage in impulsive-type behavior,” he says, as if he’s personally seen the 2 a.m. Amazon receipts in my inbox. “Having a cooling-off period is beneficial for slowing down those purchases, and having readily available access to credit card numbers could be detrimental.”
At the end of the line ? If I know myself and I know I’m spending too much, I shouldn’t memorize my card number because it might help me keep spending too much. Having to physically locate my card lengthens the process a bit, making me less likely to proceed with the purchase.
“This extra step can slow down [someone] low enough to say, ‘Do I really need this?'” Steinman adds. “‘Do I really need to buy this Halloween costume for my dog?'”