You might have read several horror stories about people carrying loads of amount in credit card debt. If you don’t want to be one of them, before you go for accepting the card or making purchases on this plastic card for the first time, become familiar with all the important credit card terms. Educate yourself about how credit cards work before you start using it. You can prevent mistakes before they happen and it may also save you a lot of money and headaches. Consider the following tips:

1. Understand the terms of the credit card, like the interest rate, the fees and the payment schedule.
2. Beware of zero percent teaser rate offers in the market. While zero percent interest is tempting, the offer may tempt you to spend more than you can afford to repay. When the introductory rate is over, the interest rate will swell and so will your balance.
3. Check the period up to which starting rate is good.
4. Check the annual payment rate for late payment, exceeding credit limit allowed.
5. Set a budget which you will be able to repay without interest charges.
6. Pay on time to build a good credit history, even if you can’t pay the balance in full.
7. It is always suggested to pay in full each month to avoid costly interest charges. If you can’t pay in full, you should pay as much as you can afford to do in that particular month.
8. Don’t go over the limit. If you spend too much, you’ll incur additional fees for spending more than credit allotted.
9. Consider the option of a secured credit card instead of a traditional credit card.
10. Just listing all of your debt and seeing how much you can pay helps you assess your current financial situation.
11. Look over each of your credit card statements every month and always keep your eyes open and check your statements truly to be sure the terms haven’t changed without notice.
12. And at last before you co-sign a card with your child, remember that if he/ she get into trouble, you’ll be in trouble for his/ her debt and your credit report could be negatively affected.