Credit cards, what would we do without them? Credit cards can be extremely useful. For instance many of us use credit cards to buy books, pay tuition, and establish good credit. Sure there are many reasons credit cards can be bad. Most consumers misuse their credit cards and experience financial hardship. Too much debt can send most people to the poorhouse.

We all hope it will never happen to us, but we all can?t be so lucky. One student at Sacramento State University had to learn the hard way. Jackie Cofper wishes she had listen to all those people who warned her about the dangers of credit cards. Sure we?ve all heard it, don?t use them except for an emergency, only have one, and only purchase what you can afford to pay for each month. However, in Jackie?s case it was something she was going to experience first hand to understand. At one point Jackie had racked up seven thousand dollars in debt on four different credit cards. It took her almost three years to pay off her debts.

When I asked her how she felt about the mistakes she had made with the credit cards she said, “I am so relieved that I have finally paid off my debt, it was the most stressful part of my life, and I would never do it again.” She went on to say, “now I only have one card and I leave it in my dresser and only use it for absolute emergencies.”

Although she would never do it again, Jackie is happy she learned an important lesson, one that some people never learn. The truth is a lot of people have to learn the credit card lesson the hard-way; the sad part is some never truly learn from their mistakes.

Here are some tips on responsible credit card use. If you find yourself dealing with serious credit card debt, there are options. When using your credit card, you can try to pay off your balance every month. If you cannot pay the entire balance, always make a payment in excess of the minimum due.

Remember the minimum due is only the interest. Call your credit card company and ask for a lower interest rate. Consolidate your debts. Make one payment every month. If you want to pay off the balance each month, enter each credit card purchase into your checkbook as if you had written a check. When the bill comes you would have already set aside the money to pay the bill.

If you have savings that you don?t want to use to pay off you credit cards, look at what you are earning on your savings and use that to pay off you credit cards. Most importantly, only use you credit cards when absolutely necessary, only spend what you can afford to spend, and watch those receipts or you could end up in Jackie? s shoes.