I have learned from first-hand experience that debt problems are most likely to occur when credit card use gets out-of-hand. Even one month of payments higher than you can pay down may lead to a spiral of debt. Any delay in delivery of a payment may trip exorbitant fees and interest rates, and the monthly interest very quickly equals the amount of the original debt that you carried. I used to have five cards I used regularly. I have ‘retired’ the four worst of them, cutting them into shreds and refusing all phone calls from their companies. The fifth card, a credit union issued card with the lowest rate, stays in my lock box only to be used for emergencies. Slowly, I have cut myself loose from the credit sharks.