Pay on Time

• Do whatever it takes to make your payments on time.calendar image by Szymon Apanowicz from Fotolia.com
  
  Late credit card payments often generate excessive interest rates and fees, as well as negative reports to the credit bureaus. Set up automatic payment withdrawals from your bank account or a bill pay system to ensure timely payments. Check your statement each month for erroneous charges and fees or identity theft. Read the fine print about late payments so there are no surprises.
  
  

Pay More than the Minimum

• Use the debt snowball plan to payoff credit cards.Snowball image by Vladimir Krivsun from Fotolia.com
  
  Paying the 2 percent minimum monthly payment on a $5,000.00 credit card at an interest rate of 10 percent will take nearly 22 years to pay off. Increase the monthly payment to 10 percent, and you're looking at a four-year payoff. Better yet, use Dave Ramsey's debt snowball plan and pay off your credit cards one at a time, starting with the smallest. After the first card is paid off, take the money you used for that payment and put it toward the next largest card. Before you know it, you could be free from credit card debt.
  
  

Pay off Balances Monthly

• Savings might help deter emergency credit card charges.saving image by Lyle Doberstein from Fotolia.com
  
  Don't charge more than what you can pay off when the bill arrives. If you don't have a budget, try the myriad of free online financial tools, such as those found on DaveRamsey.com. Setting financial plans and goals can help keep you out of debt. Setting aside emergency savings can help avoid charging emergency expenses on your credit cards.