If you haven't had your own credit card account, here's a brief overview to help you understand how it may fit into your money management plan. Using credit wisely is an important tool in establishing your financial independence. Credit cards are useful for emergencies, to build credit history, or for making travel arrangements, for example.

How to choose a card? The suggestions given here are from Gerri Detweiler's book, "The Ultimate Credit Handbook ," that offers straight-forward advice on choosing a card best suited for your lifestyle. Most importantly, read the fine print carefully! You must understand the terms outlined in the disclosure form provided with all credit card applications. The font may be small and the text uninteresting, but it can save you big bucks down the road.

DOES YOUR credit card balance keep inching upward? Then before you charge one more thing, you should assess the cost of that debt. A balance of just $5,000 at 15% will cost you $421 in interest if you manage to pay it off within a year. But that requires monthly payments of $451. Reduce your monthly payment to $106, and it will take you six years to pay off that loan. And you'll be forking over $2,633 in interest payments. You've just increased your purchase price by 52%. Did you really need the new couch that badly?

Credit cardholders often are surprised when they get socked with some unexpected fees or discover when that first statement comes that their interest rate isn't what they anticipated. Late fees. Overdraft charges. Rate increases that come unannounced and seemingly without cause. Old debts mysteriously appearing on new credit cards.

Several major credit card issuers, including Citibank, Fleet, American Express, Discover and First USA, are pushing cards with zero-percent interest rates. "If you have good credit this is definitely a good chance," says Jordan Goodman, the author of Everyone's Money Book and spokesman for the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. "If you follow the rules, you can't get any better than zero percent."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The stresses of life may be without number these days. But your debt is easily quantified. And with the U.S. economy struggling in the wake of Sept. 11, sizeable debt loads pose an even greater danger than usual: layoffs are mounting and bonuses are shrinking, but creditors will continue to expect their payments. Ideally, experts say, your total monthly long-term debt payments - including your mortgage and credit card payments - shouldn't exceed 36 percent of your gross monthly income. That's one factor mortgage bankers consider when assessing the creditworthiness of a potential borrower.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Plastic can be fantastic. Using credit cards responsibly builds a good credit history, so you can land a loan when you need one. Cards let you avoid carrying large amounts of cash, which is convenient when you have to buy something expensive or if you're abroad. They even come with perks like frequent flier miles. But credit cards work a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: they have a hidden ugly side. If your charging gets out of control, you may find yourself handcuffed to a large monthly bill with escalating interest charges. Try putting a dent in that balance with your monthly cash flow, and you may have to charge your way out of a cashless pinch. And if you pay only the bare minimum, the balance on the card never disappears.