Tips for Handling your 1st Credit Card

• Understand the terms of the card. Know the interest rate, the fees and the payment schedule.
• Beware of 0 percent teaser rates. While 0 percent interest is enticing, the offer may tempt her to spend more than she can afford to repay. When the introductory rate is over, the interest rate will swell and so will her balance. Know what the "go-to rate" is. 
• Play with interest rates. To show your daughter how debt can accrue thanks to interest, plug some hypothetical numbers into our credit card calculators for some examples. Those $50 shoes and last week's $15 pizza delivery at 20 percent interest can get really expensive.
• Set a budget. If your daughter receives an allowance, she should learn not to charge more than she'll be able to pay. If she does, her credit card balance will balloon with interest charges.
• Pay on time. Your daughter will start to build a good credit history if she pays on time, even if she can't pay the balance in full. That takes us to our next tip:
• Pay in full. To avoid costly interest charges, she should try to pay her bill in full each month. If she can't, she should pay as much as possible.
• Don't go over the limit. If she spends too much, she'll incur additional fees for spending more credit than she's been allotted.