Very Best Management Tip, one that I got when I first came here....
READ READ READ ! ! ! ! Read this board, up one side and down the other. Read the pinned/sticky messages. Do searches for topics that are of interest. Once you've read to your heart's content, take that which is important to you and apply it to your financial situation. Others here have given great advice.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
And trust me...it DOES GET BETTER!
I agree wholeheartedly. I will even add to number one about overspending. Although circumstances can happen, try to never charge more than your available cash that you have to spend at any given time. Like if you have $5000 savings, then never charge over that amount. That way there is really nothing that the credit card company can do to you. If they try balance chasing you, CLDing or any of the like, you have the ability to pay them off and move on with minimal damage. That doesn't mean you can never carry a balance if you like. It just means that you always have the ability not to carry it at any given time. Paying in full each month also solves that problem.
OnTheRebound wrote:Simple:
1. Don't overspend
2. Pay on time
3. Never, ever be late
Starting over in the garden...my seed has been planted:-)Last app: 02/23/2013
Think of everything as your debit card. you don't want an od fee if you dont have the money right? thats how i see my cc.
i was always against credit but came to fact without it i would never be able to buy a house/condo/ car unless i paid cash upfront.
how many people have 600k lying around?
So charge what you can pay.
pay in full.
check your accounts!
since i was 19 i managed 3 cards and never once missed a payment.
now 21 with 10 accounts still low util and no missed payments.
the only thing hurting me is aaoa obviously.
Another big one:
Always communicate with your creditors when tough situations happen.
It happens to all of us at some point in life - unexpected layoff, huge medical bill, etc. - some unforeseen event that suddenly makes paying the month's credit bills tough.
There is a natural human tendency to sort of "go turtle" when this happens. You just want to hide and hope the threat will go away. Or maybe you feel ashamed of being laid off, or maybe talking to someone about being unable to meet your obligations makes you uncomfortable.
However, the truth is that the vast majority of creditors are not going to shame you or guilt-trip you when you call in with a situation like this. Most will be happy to work with you to establish a payment plan, give you a temporary emergency grace period, or in some other way help you get over that obstacle and back in the black.
It's win-win for everyone involved, because an extended late period, chargeoff, or bankruptcy is just going to cost you and them a significant amount of money. They don't want that any more than you do.
So please, even though it goes against your every natural instinct, talk to your creditors in tough situations. Cooperate with them to make sure things don't get any worse than they have to.
As someone who once did the exact opposite of this advice when he got laid off, I have the scars to prove that this is the better path. Don't do what TheConductor did! 
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