When someone gets their first credit card it brings a smile to their face every time they even think of the piece of plastic that offers the freedom to buy whatever they are wanting.

I know my first card brought me a big smile on my face, even though it was not a big deal to me. I thankfully had always managed to get whatever I truly needed, but this card offered me the ease of being able to call to make hotel reservations, get dental work when my bank account was lacking for some reason or another, or just to simply be able to pick up the bill when going out to eat with someone special.

Ah, the love between people and their plastic. But like any relationship, if it is taken for granted, there will be trouble!

A few things to remember.

Remember that the plastic card is actually worthless in itself. It only acts as a promissory note, promising that you will pay back the card company for expenses that you have charged plus any interest owed. And you can bet they are on top of the interest wagon. Think of it as kind of like borrowing money from the sternest and strictest person you know. The plastic is not actual money, but rather a indication that you have passed some type of background check and the company thought you trust worthy.

Remember also that if you have to carry a balance over one month, and just slide by while making the very minimum of payments, your actual bill will be growing. All the minimum payments do is eat a little bit of the interest owed away and keep your credit alive.

If you find yourself in trouble.

If you find that somehow, no matter how hard you have tried, you have gotten yourself into debt over your head there are a couple of options. One is to try to borrow the money from a bank, (usually at a much lower interest rate), and pay off the cards. Then you do have to pay off the bank, but this usually works much faster and comes out much cheaper in the end.

If you do not want to try the bank, you can try shopping around for another card that charges lower interest rates and then transfer the money and pay off the debt at the lower rates. All though, I would recommend trying your bank first.