Here’s the best option when it comes to credit card debt: If you can’t pay off the balance of your credit card debt in full each month, you should not use the card.

Sound a little harsh? What is harsh is living with credit card debt with interest rates of 20% or higher. If you are carrying debt at those levels then your financial affairs and your life are simply not under control. And they probably won’t be in control until you learn the hard way.

Credit cards are great if used correctly. For many people they are essential. To do many common things such as renting a car, reserving a hotel room, or to purchase most things either on-line or in regular stores you need access to a credit card.

For young people using a credit card, making small purchases and paying off the balance in full each month will help them establish good credit so that later on they can obtain loans in order to purchase things like cars or even homes. That is the proper way for young people to use a credit card.

More often young people are suckered into getting a credit card without realizing that they are about to amass large amounts of debt at extremely high interest rates. Often they don’t even have to search for those credit cards, they just appear in the mail with your name on them.

Going through the first $5000 is easy and lots of fun. Suddenly out of the blue they can get anthing they want. They make a few payments, generally paying the minimum amount due, and then the next thing they know they have hit their credit limit and can’t use the card anymore, even if they really need it. And suddenly they are faced with payments of $200 per month or so, and that is only paying off interest charges.

For $200 per month a person could purchase a new car, but these students often have nothing at all to show for the money spent. They probably just blew a lot of it in bars and restaurants with their friends. If you asked them what they got for the money, they probably couldn’t say much.

How can I say all this with such certainty? I have two adult children who both did the same thing after college even though their parents tried to teach them to be financially responsible. Both had to experience real financial difficulties before they learned how to correctly handle their money. And the pain would have been even worse if their father and mother hadn’t bailed them out so they could get out from under those 20% interest payments sooner.

Aside from learning the dangers of using credit cards unwisely, young people who are starting out their working lives and begininng to learn about managing money can learn a simple but valuable lesson:

Simply take your credit card and bank statements and write down what you spent money on each month. Put expenditures into categories like food, drink, entertainment, rent, utilities, etc. This should take no more than a half hour per month, but it is the difference in being in control of your life and being totally out of control. Are you amazed that you blew $800 or more in bars and eating at restaurants? Eating out and drinking at bars is one of the fastest ways for people to be separated from their hard earned money. When you see in black and white what you are actually spending you are in a position to do something about it if need be.

So if you get your credit card debt under control you will take control of your life. You’re going to have to do it sooner or later, so the sooner the better. Click this link: Student Debt Consolidation to learn about student loans and managing student debt.