by Joseph Kenny | 03/9/09

Credit cards are a wonderful asset to modern life. At the same time, they are also a huge responsibility.

Cards can help us achieve a whole lot on a daily basis in a way that has never been realized before. We can shop online to purchase goods from a far distance, get quick funds for emergencies, and pay for items in a convenient matter that would otherwise by cumbersome with cash. However, for as much as they offer us in terms of potential, they can equally cause us to fall into serious debt.

Having a solid budget and discipline helps greatly when it comes to managing a card. However, that may not be enough in itself. Wise spending and being conservative about your finances can still get you into debt if you simply have a card with an unfavorable policy and bad conditions.

One of the first things you should establish is that your credit card reports to the major national credit agencies. This is important because you should be rewarded for being a good consumer, and credit cards do that very well by boosting credit significantly with responsible use.

A thing to keep an eye out for is excessive fees. When signing for a card, you're hardly going to find a company that gives you all the details as clearly as possible. So, it's up to you to comb through the terms and conditions to find all the fees a company imposes on its users for things like processing, usage, etc.

You'll want to get a card that has low rates which are locked. You don't want an APR that is variable, meaning a company can change how much interest it charges you whenever it feels like doing so. Even if you have to settle for an APR that is relatively high, at least ensure that it is a fixed rate.

As always, get a card that fits your lifestyle. Even if you find one that has favorable qualities in itself, don't do it just because it's popular. You should ideally only have a card that represents exactly what you need on terms that keep you out of debt.