by Joseph Kenny | 07/20/09

There are many mistakes that people make with credit cards. This is why so many people get into trouble with them. You may run up a balance that is too high, forget to pay on time, or only make minimum payments.

There are many common credit card mistakes, and if you only knew them you could avoid them. If you avoid them then you can also avoid the extra charges that come with them. Learn these common mistakes and make sure that you never make them again.

You Make Late Payments

You know that making late payments can cost you a lot on late fees, but you may not know about one of the tricky facts that can make it harder for you to pay on time. Do you think that your credit card payment due date is the same every month? Think again.

Credit card payment due dates are not always on the same day every month. They can move a number of days in either direction, and this can make it harder for you to pay your bill on time. Again, if you do make a late payment then you are hit with the customary late fees. If you do it more than once then you are heading toward a lowered credit score as a result of your late payments too.

You Don't Check Your Bill

You probably think that if your bill looks about right then you do not have to check it. Nothing could be further from the truth. For all you know scammers could be making small charges to your account to see if they can get away with it. If they can get away with small charges then that is when they move on to making big ones.

You need to systematically go through your credit cards bills to make sure that every charge is legitimate or you could be headed toward big problems. You never know who might be trying to buy something expensive on your dime.

You Sign Up For Multiple Store Credit Cards

This often seems like a good deal. You save on purchases, and maybe you even pay each of these cards off every month. The problem is that even applying for a couple of these cards can lower your credit rating.

More than that, having too many open credit accounts can adversely affect your rating just as having too many new accounts shortens your credit history because it is calculated as an average. There may be cases where the initial discount will be on an exorbitantly expensive item and will save you loads of money, but if this is not the case then do not bother with store credit cards. You would be better off paying for items with your regular credit cards.

Also, do not forget that paying with cash is always an option. This is one way to avoid the whole credit card dilemma as often as possible. You will never manage to spend more cash than you have on you.

You probably make at least one of these credit card mistakes or were unaware of the potential for problems. Now that you know them you can pay attention to your due dates, check every item on your credit card bills, and avoid store credit cards most of the time. Avoid these mistakes and credit cards will continue to be tools that work for you.