What you are about to read may make you reassess your attitude to zero interest balance transfer offers. I will show how these balance transfer offers are pushing more and more people into serious financial difficulties and I will suggest a few ideas on how you can manage your debt better.

Like most people, I've been tempted by the these offers to change my credit cards. I've taken them up on their offer and moved my credit card debt and, for a limited time, had no interest to pay. But "just in case of an emergency" I usually hang onto my old card. 

Then something happens, an unexpected bill, or a wedding or birthday gift I've forgotten about. "Never mind" I tell myself "I can put it on the old card - there's plenty of credit on there so it's no problem."

It's so easy and the banks and credit card companies are so eager to lend the money that it becomes routine, until that is, something goes wrong. You could fall ill and be off work, or, you could lose some overtime and your wages fall, or maybe that big deal you were relying on falls through. 

It may just be that the credit card companies decide you have too much outstanding on credit cards and you would have difficulty paying the repayments, or simply they spot that you are a regular churner of the debt and they don't want your business. 

Whatever the reason the result is that you have all the interest to pay and you start to struggle with the minimum payments and miss one or two. Because you've missed payments it becomes even more difficult to find the next interest free balance transfer offer. 

Now you have a real problem but it is one that can be avoided.

I could suggest that you don't use credit cards but I suspect that would not be acceptable, and I am not going to suggest you ignore the 0% offers - that would mean you paying interest when it is not needed. 

That way you benefit from the 0% offer but minimize your exposure to higher debt. 

Once you have cut your card up though, it is essential that you contact the card issuer and close the account. Until you close the account the card issuer will continue to tempt you with special offers to use your old card.

Another tip is to never pay just the minimum payment. Always pay the maximum monthly payment you can afford. Reducing your payments simply pushes back the time when you have to repay and in the long term increases your payments. Use the interest free period to reduce your debt to the minimum and if possible clear the balance.

Credit card companies don't offer an interest free balance transfer because they are feeling generous. They do it because, in the vast majority of cases, they will be able to charge you more in the longer term. PLUS most of them come with some sort of transfer fee which is another whole discussion. Use interest free credit to benefit you not the credit card companies.

You already know a lot about credit cards. You've heard that consumer debt in this country-particularly credit-card debt-is at an all-time high, while our savings rate is lower than ever before. You realize that the boom in online shopping, with its absolute dependence on credit cards, is further fueling their use. You are well aware that running a balance on your plastic-and paying the unconscionable interest rates that come with it-is one of our most basic and widespread financial blunders. And you suspect that the sheer volume of direct-mail credit-card solicitations with low teaser rates must be devastating the forests of northern Idaho.

Still, credit cards are a fact of 21st century life, and it only makes sense to understand how to use them wisely. While it's probably impractical to keep all plastic out of your wallet, it is prudent to limit the number of cards you have, and, of course, to pay all balances in full every month. Indeed, having only a traditional American Express card, which doesn't allow you to carry a balance, can be an excellent way to impose fiscal discipline on you and your family-although, as the Visa ads point out, not everyone accepts American Express. For the rest of us, who do occasionally dabble in credit-card debt, here are a few ways to keep your habit under control.

1. Take advantage of frequent-flier programs tied to credit cards, but keep in mind that interest payments on a high balance can quickly turn "free" flights into outrageously expensive ones. At a dollar per mile, running up a debt of 25,000 may get you a plane ticket, but it will also saddle you with $4,500 in yearly interest payments, assuming an 18% annual rate.

2. Look very closely at credit-card offers before you bite. Obviously, most of those 2.99% and 3.99% rates will be in effect for only a few months. But there may be other catches as well. Making a late payment, even if it arrives only a day after it was due, may immediately trigger a permanent rate hike. Also, low initial rates sometimes apply only to transferred balances, and you could get charged a fee for making the transfer. Check, too, to see whether there is an annual fee, or charges for exceeding your credit limit or even for closing an account.

3. Avoid amazing grace-period tricks. What you're looking for is a provision that says you'll never be charged interest as long as you pay your bill in full by the due date. But some cards have no grace period, calculating interest from the moment you make a purchase, while others give you only a limited time after making a charge before interest is imposed. That period of 20 days or so may end before your payment is due.

4. Don't forget to cancel cards you no longer use. If you don't, they'll show up on credit reports, and that could be a problem, particularly if you're applying for a home mortgage. Your would-be lender may be reluctant to make a loan to someone who has a cumulative credit-card limit of $50,000, $100,000, or even more.