Managing credit

"Treat credit card like cash" That's the headlines of the Invest section of the Sunday Times today.

In certain cases today, credit buying has become almost a necessity. The principle to follow, however, is that credit purchases should be made for necessities only - such as a car or home.

Never buy luxuries on credit.

TV sets, sporting goods and hobby supplies should be paid for in cash. It is usually these items that give people trouble in credit buying. It seems so easy to buy the extras now and delay the payment until later; or charge for thing that you can't pay for completely when the bill 1st comes. Don't fall into this trap.

Interest rates are so high on credit-card purchases that one could end up paying much more for the items then if one had paid cash.

Many people live so close to the edge that just one extra bill pushes them over the edge into financial oblivion.

Take it from a guy who has been down that road, but lived to come back and tell his story.