 TITLE: How to Avoid Overspending Each Month CONTENT: Reduce Credit Card Spending\n---------------------------\nIdeally, your monthly income and expenses should balance without deploying your credit cards. Why? Large amounts of credit card debt can be difficult to pay off, and interest charges will add to ever-growing monthly credit card payments. Making matters worse, it can actually hurt your credit score to max out your credit cards or use up a large percentage of your available credit.\nIf impulse credit card purchases are what's affecting your finances, you might stop carrying your cards with you or storing your card information in your web browser. By adding this small barrier, you can buy yourself some time to decide the unnecessary (or unaffordable) expense isn't the best idea.\nDo you switch to credit cards when you're concerned that your checking account balance is low? Try making a habit of checking your account balance every morning. You'll have a clearer picture of how much you have left to spend at all times—and maybe remind yourself to spend less and save more if your balance is low. END