>>A credit card should be a pay to avoid carrying cash and to protect yourself from scoundrel sellers, nothing more.
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>Unfortunately, it seems to take people learning this the hard way once to really be responsible about it. I am working my way out of learning the hard was as we speak. So has about everybody I have talked to in my age group about it. It seems people are less and less concerned about carrying a few thousand dollars balance because "they can pay it off in no time if they wanted to".


No need to hang your head. Most of us went through that if we didn't marry into money. I had credit card debt when I was a young guy starting out and every nickel of it felt like stealing. I remember buying my first TV, a black and white set maybe 13 inches, for about a hundred bucks at a May Company store in San Bernardino. I literally felt like a thief leaving the store.

It's really just discipline. Growing your income helps, obviously. The rest you can do, with some pain. Here are my simple rules that will have you beaming contentedly by a pool in your dotage:

1. Pay off all debts as fast as you can, credit card interest especially. They're gouging you. Don't give them the satisfaction.

2. Put the max into 401Ks or any other company-supported retirement plans. This is free money. In fact it's better than free money.

3. Don't get divorced <s>.