As someone who has been on both sides of the financial fence in their life, a word of advise about credit cards. If you have debt, do not charge more on the card then you can currently pay off, no more items you really can do without, and pay it off ASAP! The old adage holds true.. "If you find yourself deep in a hole, the first advise I can offer is ... stop digging." After that consider the credit card an extended check book of sorts. Any purchase made on it should be able to be covered at billing time. I personally like the cash back cards. Discover, and some Master Cards have cash back offers where you are paid a percentage of all purchases. They of course are hoping that at the end of the month you will be unable to pay the balance. BUT if you can maintain a zero balance, purchase and pay for every thing on the card, you make a nice little reward for yourself down the road.

Credit cards are the worst thing that ever happen to many people and this country for that matter. I know one person who got married, his new bride and him outfitted their home with furniture, appliances, and entertainment items. They signed up for cable, DSL, and anything else. Knowing his job was good but not that good, I asked him once... did someone die and leave you a bundle? His reply was, we put it on credit cards. They send them in the mail to me all the time. He later went bankrupt. He managed to keep his house only through the kindness of his parents.

Never trust a free offer, and as my father used to say, "there is no such thing as a free ride in this world. Sometimes you just have to refuse and walk."