Many people utilize credit cards to fill the gap between what they have to spend in the month and what they are actually spending each month.  Unfortunately, what happens is people don’t always pay the entire amount at the end of the billing cycle.  If you end up carrying a balance each month, interest starts accruing.  If you are carrying that balance every month and then adding to that with each additional expense, it can begin to build to an amount that you can only find yourself paying the minimum payment on.  If you miss a payment or go over your limit, there will be additional fees added.  And what if you have an interest rate charging you up to 29% per year … is it worth it? 

If you have to use a credit card, pay the balance off each month.  Don’t carry debt on a credit card. 

Debit cards deduct money directly from your checking account so it is important that every time you swipe your debit card, you record the transactions in your checkbook or accounting software.  Don’t rely on looking at your ATM balance and think that amount is what you have available to use … certain transactions may have not cleared your account yet and you may end up overdrawing yourself.  Be wary of additional fees that you might be charged for using a debit card from your bank as well as from the merchant.