Credit card ads and promotions are invading this society increasingly. I remember going to college and seeing the tables set up by the main entrance with sales representatives presenting appetizers and cool drinks to lure hungry students. It only dawned on me years later, that these tables where like slaughter houses that would eventually bring a lot of headaches to most of the students falling into the trap of acquiring credit cards due to their already scarce financial resources. Debt then becomes almost like a norm for many people who learn to make unwise choices from the time they haven't even graduated from college to enter the career market. It's therefore important to educate people on how to be shrewd and make wise choices before considering the ownership of credit cards. ONE way of being careful is by making sure that you perform a thorough research of a variety of credit cards in order to confirm that you are aware of all the fees ( especially the hidden ones ) you will have face at different times and situations involving the usage of the card. In case you have already acquired the card, read all closures in the contract, no matter how long it will take for you to read the whole thing. Meticulously read it: if you see something that seems a bit suspicious, you're still on time to cancel the card. ANOTHER way of protecting your finances is by just using common sense: it sounds like an obvious choice but how many of us can say that we've never made any foolish decisions being somewhat conscious of the consequences we would have to face? If you know that you can hardly control yourself from spending money, PLEASE, stay away from credit cards. You have other options to choose from such as prepaid cards. With all the adversities we all encounter throughout the course of our lives, let's make debt one less to deal with!