It’s smart to pay it all off ASAP with your savings; you’ll be better off in the long run! I also learned this lesson the hard way… though my husband. I’ve never carried credit card debt–my parents drilled it into me starting in eighth grade–but my husband is not quite so disciplined. He racked up a huge amount of debt, and we finally finished paying it off this year. Now I just have to hope that he learned his lesson too. [Crossing fingers.]

Once you’re debt-free, though, and no longer accruing interest on purchases, it’s actually safer to use your credit card instead of your debit card. When you swipe your debit card, the store computer stores your pin along with your debit card number, which means that anyone who can gain access to that computer has both. Credit card numbers can be stolen too, of course, but the difference is that you’re not responsible for stolen purchases on your credit card. If your debit card is stolen, it’s coming straight out of your bank account and you’re on the hook. So, basically, credit cards are “safer” than debit cards… but only if you have the willpower to control your spending and you pay them off in full every month!

P.S. In Illinois, all high school students are required to take a class called “consumer economics” which teaches students how to balance a checkbook, about credit cards and interest rates, etc. It’s good in theory because only about 1/3 of people nationwide actually go to college, but everyone needs to know basic financial skills. The problem is that the class, or at least the one I took, isn’t really very effective. (Or maybe no one’s paying attention because it doesn’t yet relate to their lives, I don’t know.)