1. Pay only the minimum payment. You believe that you are doing ok with your credit cards as long as you can make the minimum payment. For anyone who has not done the math, paying the minimum is a bad solution. 2. Take payday loan or cash advance from one card to pay another card. It is hard to believe that people still do this, but it remains a big problem. This should be a big sign that you are in significant debt trouble and need to find help. 3. Keep your real debt from your relative. If your spouse doesn't know about it, it really doesn't exist! The act of hiding something says you have made a mistake and are trying to cover it up. If you are concealing a credit card balance from a spouse for whatever reason, tell the truth and discuss the debt and how you plan to cover it. 4. Make your payments a day late. It is important to find a system of paying your bills so that all your payments are received on or ahead of time. The fastest way to lower your credit score is to make late payments on your credit accounts. Your payment must reach your creditor before the due date and many do not post credits after 1 p.m. Late payment fees for credit card accounts are as high as $40 and add up very quickly. 5. Accumulate all the credit cards you can. The more cards you have, the more difficult it is to maintain the payments on time. All you need is few bank cards such as MasterCard or American Express. They can be used most places, offer better APRs and don't expend your credit availability. 6. Exploit credit as an extra income. Having more credit is not the same as having more income. Credit is only another way to spend the same income you already have at different time. Don’t spend what you don’t have! 7. Choose a card with a fee, high interest rate and poor customer service. For those who plan to carry a balance from month to month, a low annual-percentage rate and no annual fee would probably work best. Those who pay off their balances at the end of each month may benefit from a rewards card with a reasonable annual fee.
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