Get into the habit of only making your "predictable" monthly purchases (i.e. groceries, transit passes, bar nights, etc) with it, and then paying off the balance every month.
Do not use it for anything that you could not pay cash for (big screen TV, big trip, tuition, etc).
This is a good way to build up your credit rating, and gets you in the habit of predicting your monthly cash flow and building simple budgets. The idea is to get good at predicting the amount of "float" that you need at any given time, and start investing any excess cash that you might have.
I used to be pretty bad with carrying small balances on my credit card all the time because it is so easy to be lazy with it. Some people get into really big trouble and end up carrying a huge weight of credit card debt with them for what seems like forever because they think that it is normal. Instead, it is actually a good way to piss away a bunch of money on interest payments, and reduce your future borrowing capabilities because you can't wait for things, or won't budget for yourself.
The first thing a financial advisor will tell the novice investor is to "get rid of personal debt". Do one better and prevent its accumulation in the first place, credit card debt is completely avoidable, but easily generated so be careful with it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Biff
If the NHL ever needs an enema, Edmonton is where they'll insert it.
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