Mindful credit card usage

Credit card is a tool to use only if you already have money sitting in bank. If that is not the case you would be stressed for whole month. Interest rate is highest in credit card, better to take other products like flexible OD or best is credit card + flexible OD( so you don't worry about credit card bill payment)

There is only one simple rule. Buy only that thing from a credit card which you can comfortably buy using your debit card.

You mentioned you're facing financial constraints. Having some loans can be beneficial, but credit cards are costly tools to manage during a financial crunch. Loans to consider in order of complexity (left to right) - hand loan (from friends/families), salary advance from employer, gold loan, property loan, personal loan, credit card loans, mobile app loans..

just pay the bill on time....you will be good once you don't pay, they put interest charges of 3-4% per month which will compound like crazy

I started using CC a year back and here is what I have learnt : 1. Dont buy anything which you don't need just because you have a limit of say 2.5 or 10lakhs. 2.Use it instead of debit card/upi to earn points for big/small purchases. 3.Never invest the money from credit card. 4.Dont fall into the trap of online sale/impulse buying. 5.Never exceed you card usage above 30% of your savings (unless there is emergency). 6.Always check your bill statement before you pay it. 7.Always take a card which gives max points. Imitially I did a lot of mistales but now I have controlled it and it helped me planning my expenses /savings for the next 2 months.

Never buy anything beyond your means just because you can afford it with a credit card. But if you use it well you can maintain a good credit score.

If you are not into impulse purchase then CC is fine, just keep your spendings innline with your savings and investment targets

Use credit card for things you can buy in cash. If you can't buy it on cash, you can't afford it on credit card either.

Interest rates on CC's are massive(stated rates are for shorter terms, annualize the same and they are easily >12%. You're essentially spending from your future potential earnings, make sure to not default on a single payment it becomes a spiral very very quickly. And given your situation CC's are not the way to go.

Credit cards are good man. This fear of going out of budget with credit card expenses keep a lot of people away from the perks it provide. It’s legit true that smart users of CC save a lot of money. Just see if you are comfortable to pay full bill on the due date, if yes, go for it, otherwise PLEASE don’t. Companies & other organisations run on a yearly/quarterly plan. As an individual, you got to plan 50 days of your life ahead. Treat yourself as a company and make the decisions as a CEO, be as brutal as a CEO would be if your life was a company.

It's not a tool for you to use when you are in a financial crunch. Take it if you have sufficient savings each month and no problem accessing liquid cash.