This makes me cringe.

I remember when we all first started using debit cards and automatic pay systems at supermarkets. I was really uneasy about using them at first and would use cash whenever I could. Now I'm comfortable with it, except on days when I hear stories like this, that 4 million customers at 165 Hannaford supermarkets in the Northeast U.S. are victims of a data breach, their credit card numbers accessed by someone else. The breach also affects over 100 Sweetbay stores in Florida and some indie stores. No other info (names, addresses, phone numbers, etc) were stolen.

So far there have been 1800 fraud cases directly caused from this breach, though I'm sure many more are to come.

It looks like you won't have to fish for change to get that bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Diet Coke for lunch out of the vending machine. Thanks to a partnership between MasterCard and Coca-Cola, vending machines are now taking all forms of payment, including credit and debit cards. In Philadelphia, 1,000 of these card-swiping vending machines have been rolled out.

At first, it sounds great. "Wow! I can use my credit card! I don't have to carry change anymore!" But, as the article states, the concept "inevitably raises questions about when a convenience might become an enabler, encouraging consumers to drink more soda or buy more candy, while spending money they don't necessarily have" and health professionals are worried.

Now, I am all for convenience when it comes to shopping, and a credit card certainly makes it easier to make a purchase. However, if you don't have seventy-five cents, do you really need to take out your credit card and charge that tiny amount? If you don't have the change, skip the snack and wait for a real meal.

There was a time when a vending machine simply dispensed chilled sodas. After that, they carried a full range of candy bars and salty snack products. There were even vending machines that brewed you a cup of coffee and heated your instant cup o' soup. Soon other industries beyond food will be able to stock their wares in these machines, traditionally only food-delivery systems. The Denver Post reports that Safeway supermarkets in Colorado have been testing these machines in stores since late last year. Nestled amongst food products, the Zoom Shops carry such goods as iPods, Playstations and DVD sets. Don't dig out the retractable quarter on a string from your childhood, though. That trick may have gotten you a free Coke, but these new machines only take credit cards. Will there eventually be a middle ground between 65¢ packets of pretzels and iPods - like a blender or a mid-range toaster oven? Only time will tell....