Debit Where Its Due

June 26, 2026

So when got my ID, one of the first things I did was get my first bank card, a basic vertical debit card that started a payment card phase. Let's get into the history, and start way before I turned 18.

The PayPal Credit card is the first card I've ever got, and it was way back from 2019. My mom tried using it once only for it to fail as it had not been activated yet since...neither of us knew how it worked.

Skipping into the early 2020's, I was signed up for a Cash App Card by my mom under my name as she had just gotten banned from Cash App. I believe it was a basic black design.

I don't remember what order I got each card so I'll just say why I got all of them. I got a local bank card that was...kinda annoying. The card's top skin was peeling and the chip was slightly off center from the hole. Is that too nit-picky? Oh well.

I got Chime cards just in case I ever needed them, which I did need at some times so my mom could send me money. I got a PayPal card later just to pay a little homage to the first ever fintech I used, Venmo soon followed. At some point I got another Cash App card as well.

Then some specific cards like the Netspend Debit, the H-E-B debit, and the Klarna card. OnePay because I just saw banners at Walmart for it. I was just going wild with whatever I could apply for.

Later came a local credit union card that I actually thought would be nice, except one thing fintechs are good at is having reliable apps. I was considering going back to my local bank instead but I had already delt with the app that had the same framework/engine as before but I found something better.

The Varo Bank. A fintech with FDIC, I tried applying for it earlier but gave up because it was a little hard. A little after I got my final fintech card to settle on, Varo Bank, I felt the urge to get rid of every card I wasn't using.

Combined image of fintech cards and health insurance cards

(Two cards blacked out because I decided to keep them.)

Pile of broken payment cards, destroyed health cards, torn checkbooks

And so they went.

I feel a weird need to break useless things but I take pictures of them before destruction just to "preserve" them, I guess.

Today, I only have my ID, MCNA, Ollie's Army, and Varo cards. A total of 5 cards after shedding off a whopping 24.