All of those are good advise. The important thing is be smart with money. Never just pay the minimum on credit cards. If you have 100.00 in the bank you are getting maybe .02% interest nowadays, if your lucky, if you charge 90.00 and each month you pay the minimum... your credit card company is getting sometimes as much as 25% interest....and they figure out interest daily while the banks give you interest monthly. So in the end give up the 90.00 dollars...at first it may seem difficult but consider the credit card your emergency go to rather then the comfort of money in the bank. What I like to do is use the credit card for everything. I get 2% back(sometimes 5%) I get my monthly statement go over my receipts...I take that time to reflect on the expenses see where I can change things.....But every time I pay the statement amount.. The trick is living within your means. Be flexible, if paying cash gives you a better deal then credit card (sometimes vendors charge you for using a credit card) do it.