“Pay off your credit cards every month.”
Well . . . . isn’t this timely just after the holidays?
This one is a hard one, sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Large expenditures can occur and if you haven’t set extra (if you even have extra) $$ aside, it’s a lifeline to have an extended payment option.
For the most part though, I try not to put something on a credit card that I’m not going to be able to pay off. Many times I pay cash or use my debit card so that I have no surprises at the end of the month. Although really, saying the “end of the month” isn’t really accurate anymore since a lot of credit cards bill out on closing dates of their choosing.
You get the drift though, letting debt pile up is not good. Hopefully you have a good financial person for advice, and are able to formulate a budget to keep you “within your means”. My ex never lived within our “means” – he cared far too much about what the outside world thought of him and he desired a wealthy lifestyle.
My parents never over-extended and paid things off immediately. The only loan was on their home, which they also paid off over 15 years. Within my marriage, I was always uncomfortable about the amount of debt he carried. After the divorce, I tried to budget and put $$ aside for the large expenses such as insurance, autos, healthcare, repairs, etc. Sometimes I put aside enough, sometimes I had to fudge.
When you figure out how much you really pay “over time”, do you really want to make the credit card companies wealthier than they already are? With the instability of the world markets and our own down stock market right now, this life lesson is even more timely.
Debt free is worry free!
suddenlysinglewomen 
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