If you can’t afford to pay off your credit card, you shouldn’t use it. Treating a credit card as extra money, or “money from the bank”, means it will take longer to pay it off and could lead to years of credit card debt.

Below are some suggestions of what you can do to avoid the temptation of using credit for things you can’t afford:

• Don’t get a credit card and use a debit card instead.
• Regularly check your credit card balance.
• Transfer money to your credit card as soon as you get paid.
• Have savings set aside for unexpected costs (including credit card payments).
• Request a low credit limit.