Here are some other suggestions you may want to apply if you have a credit card.

● Keep track of your purchases and carefully match them to your monthly statements to be sure that you’re charged only for purchases you made.

● Pay your credit-card bill promptly. If possible, pay it in full.

● Be very cautious about giving your credit-card number and expiration date over the phone or online.

● Avoid using your credit card as a means of obtaining quick cash. Cash advances usually incur a higher interest rate.

● Never lend your credit card to anyone, not even a friend.

DID YOU KNOW . . . ?

If you have a balance of $2,000 on your credit card with an interest rate of 18.5 percent and you make only the minimum payments, it will take you 11 years to pay off your debt and will cost you an extra $1,934 in interest.