One of the hardest things for Americans to control is their credit line. Plastic is beginning to rule in every form of daily life. Purchases are being made on credit cards from Christmas gifts and computers to packs of gum from the gas station and fast food lunches on the go. With all of this plastic purchasing, it’s hard to keep up with how much credit you are building, and how much you are bulldozing. Keeping your credit in check is a vital part of your financial future. Below are ways to keep your credit in the best shape you can.

The Statistics of Credit Cards

Suze Orman, a writer for Yahoo Finance, offers several statistics in her article “How to Take Control of Your Credit Cards.” For example, the typical balance of Americans that don’t pay off their credit cards monthly is $4,000. When higher incomes are examined, this can run up to $8,000. At this point, your minimum payment is comprised mostly of interest and very little of it actually goes to paying off the lump sum. Yikes!

How Credit Card Debt Grow and Grow

Suze Orman also gives examples of how credit card debt becomes out of control. She separates credit card users into Broke by Choice and Broke by Circumstance. From Orman’s perspective, there are those who use credit cards over and over again because they can. Then there are those who find themselves in the occasional tough spot and find that they need to use credit cards.

How to Get Out of Credit Card

The first tip is to fight tooth and nail to not use your credit cards! Put them away in a safe deposit box, cut them up, shred them, have a bonfire. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself from using the credit cards. Then, begin to search for better rates. Often, other credit cards will offer balance transfers with one year of no interest. This will help you pay money toward your actual balance and not just toward interest. Once you get out of credit card debt, don’t start the vicious cycle again. Put on your card only what you can pay off at the end of the month, if you put anything on it at all!