1. Budget before you borrow. You should work out a budget and stick to it. When making purchases shop around for the best deal. Ask yourself if you can afford the repayments before you make a purchase. Do NOT use your credit card to buy goods you can't afford or to fund a lifestyle that is beyond your means.
2. Consider setting up direct debits. If you make monthly payments on any credit cards you can ensure that you never incur any late payment fees. Talk to your card issuer to find out how. It may pay to set up direct debits on other regular bills as many companies will give you discounts.
3. Beware of only making minimum repayments on credit cards. Unless you’re taking advantage of a special deal or a zero per cent offer, only ever paying the minimum repayment will cost you more and increase the time taken to clear your debt. It is NOT a suggested payment schedule.
4. Check all your monthly statements. Managing your money means knowing what you are spending and, on a credit card, what you owe. How much interest are you paying? What repayments must you make? The answers are all on your monthly statement.
5. Keep your details up to date. If you’ve moved out of home to start university you will need to notify your bank and any credit card companies of your change of address so that you can continue to receive your monthly statements. Alternatively, you may be able to access your accounts online allowing you to check your finances regularly.
6. Keep your PIN safe. Never ever write your PIN down or tell it to others, not even your friends. If you have difficulty remembering your PIN then you can always change it to a more memorable number at most cash machines.
7. Allow time for card payments to reach your account. Debit and credit card payments can take several days or more to reach your account. There will normally be information on your statement that tells you how long you should allow.
8. Be wary when withdrawing cash. Even if you only use your debit card to get cash from cash machines, remember most cash machines operated by banks and building societies let you withdraw money for free. Non-bank cash machines, however, will usually charge a fee. You will always be told if you are going to be charged. Constantly incurring a fee to access your cash will soon mount up and eat into the money you have to spend on yourself. Withdrawing cash on a credit card is more expensive with interest charged from the day you make the withdrawal.
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-(As advised by FSA)
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