Credit card is an important shopping tool that takes care of your needs. It caters to your domestic and business purposes. And, of course, there are so many options of these shopping cards available these days that it is necessary for you to know what exactly the deal is that you are opting for. Do not jump at any attractive-looking offer from different companies, which many people tend to do.

Credit card customers travelling abroad over the festive season are being warned to read the small print on the terms and conditions of their contracts after Post Office research showed that hidden fees could end up costing credit cards customers dearly.

Christmas spending on store cards is costing UK consumers a staggering £2.8 billion in interest - 62 per cent more than those using credit cards, according to new research.

Almost one in ten adults has access to more than £20,000 credit and the latest figures show that UK consumers have the potential to blow £176.9 billion on their credit cards.

UK consumers' fears are mounting over the growing risk of identity fraud according to the latest research from American Express.

According to Standard Life, consumer attitudes to debt have shifted dramatically; with people taking a far more laid back approach to borrowing; for many, getting a loan is no longer seen as a last resort, but a way of financing a certain standard of living.

One of the most exciting parts of growing up is becoming financially independent, but learning how to do so can be challenging. Building good credit is a must: It will help you qualify for loans, auto insurance, rental applications, cell phone plans, and can even affect whether you get a job. How do you get started? Put simply, it all comes down to being responsible. So how do you get there? CreditCards.com asked two financial experts to explain in 10 steps how students can effectively build credit. Mike Sullivan is the director of education for Take Charge America, a Phoenix-based nonprofit financial education and consumer debt service organization that has helped many students. Clarky Davis is the "Debit Diva" for CareOne Credit Counseling, a debt relief service provider based in Columbia, Md.

Basic personal finance is not typically on the short list of required college courses, but universities are realizing that the more they teach students how to manage their money now, the more prepared these students are to ward off debt in the future. "If you look at the mortgage industry in particular, many of the problems came about because people didn't know what they were getting themselves into and were not able to assess all of the risks," says Deena Katz, chairman of the Miami-based wealth management firm Evensky & Katz. She even places blame somewhat on universities and colleges. "The people from Mastercard and Visa would sit at tables and were practically passing out applications to incoming freshman like they were bags of popcorn," says Katz.

The average balance on graduate school students' credit cards is $8,612, according to Nellie Mae (a subsidiary of Sallie Mae, the nation's leading student loan company); undergraduates carry about half that. According to an April 2008 survey by The Hartford Financial Services Group, 55 percent of parents with children between the ages 16-24 question whether they will be able to become financially independent without help from the Bank of Mom and Dad. It's a reasonable fear. The Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literary recently released its own survey showing that high school seniors correctly answered only 48.3 percent percent of the questions testing fundamental personal finance skills. Another, 2006 survey by Hartford showed that 60 percent of the parents said their children no classroom training in personal finance, whether in high school or college.

College can be a great time to enjoy independence and build a foundation for the future, or an opportunity to begin their careers with unnecessary credit card debt. They are out there, however, and CreditCards.com sampled eight universities with classes that address personal finance. Of the 10 classes profiled, three are required for certain majors; the rest are electives. What role credit cards play in the class: Professor James Kassar, math department chair, is out to make math relevant to daily life, and his class specifically studies the cost of credit and how to avoid credit card trouble. Students study the numbers not just behind credit cards, but also installment loans, loan payment formulas, amortization schedules, automobile loans involving different rates and terms, credit scores, closing costs and pre-payment strategies.