Use credit card with discretion: Here're fees, charges and penalties

Among all financial products, it has the highest charges and penalties

• Treat a credit card as a convenient means to pay and not as an efficient way to borrow
• Understand charges, fees and penalties (See table) and avoid taking excess debt
• The most common reason for the build-up of debt is that borrowers make only partial payment or pay only the minimum amount due
• The balance, then, gets added to the next bill and the combined amount attracts extremely high-interest charges 
• Eventually, the cardholder has to pay heavy interest on the outstanding
• Once in a debt trap, the only recourse is to take a personal loan to clear the debt or convert the credit card dues