[reviewer]

Some tips that I've learned:

1.) If you have credit card debt, but the cards are still usable for emergencies, ALWAYS PAY THE CREDIT CARD FIRST before putting money in savings. This way, you're only paying the high interest rates if there's an emergency, rather than paying them just in case you have one! Of course, if you can get a zero-percent interest rate for 6 months, or what have you, this might be a good temporary spot to keep your debt.

2.) I am not a "big spender" and don't have trouble controlling myself, but I do have trouble with remembering how much is in checking/savings at a time. I have some high-limit rewards cards (cash back) that I put all of my expenses that I can on, and then pay off the new balance each month online. (Always pay the "new balance" not the "full balance" if you're online - this way you're not paying sooner than you have to.) This means a little more cash sitting around in your accounts - which was VERY handy when a company accidentally charged me twice for a large payment! Kept me from any overdraft fees. I also earn a lot of rewards - it's amazing what you can put on a credit card (everything except rent, in my case - including all utilities and medical bills). Of course make sure you're not paying any "convenience" charges to pay on the card.

3.) Once the cards are paid off to the point you're always paying the whole new balance, then start putting money in savings. Online savings is MUCH better - better interest rates, lower fees, more freedom. I use ING Direct, and you can have any amount of money (I've had as little as under a dollar in the account, when I needed it for a large down payment, and as much as several thousand). Compare ING's current rates to your local bank, who will offer you maybe a half percent if you don't want to maintain a minimum balance.

4.) If you absolutely must carry a balance, try to keep it on your lowest card. Avoid paying any balance transfer fees, though. Just pay more on that card, if you have to.

5.) Keep track of your due dates! Late fees hurt twice - both the fee itself and the credit ding. I like to set up payments in advance to come out of my checking account on payday, just so I don't forget, and my cards fortunately all have due dates after one or another payday in the month so it works well.

One last tip - a lot of the better card services will offer tools to manage your accounts better. You can, for example, with a Target Visa, break down all of your spending into categories so you can see how much you're spending over a month or a year on various things. Pretty cool!