There are plenty of positive factors related to having credit cards in your wallet, from added convenience in your day-to-day activities to helping you build or maintain a good credit rating.

But plastic also comes with big responsibilities and it can make your credit rating plummet if not used responsibly. Once you’ve accumulated debt, it can takes years to pay off and constant interest fees being added to your balance only makes it more difficult to get a handle on.

Here are a few tips to help you stay out of the red:

Photo by Horia Varlan

Think Twice Before Charging

If you are a credit card newbie or have a history of charging more than you can handle to your plastic, think twice before you pull out your credit card. A simple way to avoid racking up debt is to only charge what you know you can pay off—at least with your next paycheck. You’ll normally have about a month to pay off a purchase due to credit card billing cycles, but don’t push it too much!

Sometimes life happens and an unforeseen expense will pop up. When this happens to you, try to cut down on your “pleasure spending” for the rest of the month. For instance, don’t go out to dinner as much. Simply cut down on your splurges and leave your credit card in your wallet. Once you’ve paid off the emergency expense, then you can treat yourself.

Pay Your Bill On Time

There is no excuse not to! The Internet makes it easy to stay on top of our accounts, so make sure you know when your bill is due and pay it on time. In fact, it’s a good idea to pay it ahead of time. You don’t want to be consistently waiting until the very last minute to pay your bill, because there’s no guarantee that your credit card company will receive it before the deadline. And yes, even one day is considered late. Avoid those nasty late payment fees!

You also have the option of scheduling automatic payments when the bill is due. Do this if you always have plenty of money floating around in your checking account. Otherwise, do it manually when the money is available.

Forget About Minimum Payments

Your credit card statement will always cite an absolute minimum required payment. This is not an invitation to discard the rest of your account balance. You should basically ignore the minimum payment. Always try to pay the entire amount due from each billing cycle on time. It will make your life easier in the long run. Otherwise, your account balance will keep building and building until it gets out of control.

Your credit card can be a good thing in your life if you use it properly. Just follow these simple tips and you’ll save yourself a whole lot of stress. Remember to pay off your credit card in full and on time, and limit what you charge to only what you can pay off right away.

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