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Monday, March 10, 2003

By Caryn Bilotta

The average American household with at least one credit card carried a credit card balance of more than $8,000 in 2002. Make sure to use credit wisely to benefit yourself and not your creditors.

Shop for credit as you would shop for anything else. Compare interest rates and total finance charges before making a loan or purchase. Before signing an agreement make sure to first read it completely, including the fine print.

Don't borrow money to pay necessary living expenses such as food, water, sewerage, electricity or gas. Don't buy anything on credit that does not have the value to outlast the installment payments.

Don't borrow money to pay off debts, and then continue to use the same charges to run up additional debt. This defeats the purpose of a consolidation loan.

Caryn Bilotta is education director for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Western Pennsylvania. For more information, call (888) 511-2227 or visit its Web site at www.cccspa.org.