Most of us know the dangers of credit card debt. We’ve either experienced it ourselves, or know someone who has. But, it’s not credit cards themselves that are the enemy. It is the way we use them.

The key to responsible credit card use is to pay off the bill each month. The following is a list of tips on how to do that very thing:

Mark Your Calendars: If you keep a day timer or a desk calendar, it’s important to mark down when your payment is due just as you would mark down when you have a dental appointment. This helps you remember the actual due date and budget your money around it. If you are signed up for paperless billing, marking it down on a calendar or planner is particularly important.

Pay Your Bills Early:  In this day and age, it’s easy to pay credit card bills: you just hop online and away you go. But, this doesn’t mean that bills are always paid in time. Computer problems, lack of funds or just plain old forgetting can cause you to be tardy with your payment. This hurts you in two ways: it forces you to pay a hefty late fee and it looks bad on your credit report. Thus, it’s important to pay your credit cards in full, on time, or early just to be safe.

At the very least, make it a habit to pay the minimum payment early every month to your card’s bank regardless of how much you charge, this way even if you can’t pay off the full amount you’ll never face a late fee again.

Change Due Dates According to Your Schedule: If you have multiple credit cards with different due dates, decide on what time of the month is the best for you to pay your credit card bills and contact your creditors and ask that your due dates be changed to that time of month. That way you can pay each bill at the same time and not have to worry about multiple due dates. Make sure your statements reflect this change in due date to avoid late charges.

Use a Charge Card: For anyone who is unable to pay off their entire balance every month (which, let’s face it, is many of us) replacing a credit card with a charge card is a viable option. Instead of adding interest rates and providing you with large lines of credit, a charge card forces you to pay off your balance each month.

If you can, Use Check or Cash: Yes, credit cards are convenient and many even offer points if you charge, charge, charge. But, this often leads to debt, debt, debt. No matter what kind of perk is offered for using your credit card, you will save much more money by using a check or cash. When it comes to checks and cash, no interest is involved. If you must use a credit card, only do so for items that can actually be paid off in a month or two.

Know Your Billing Cycle: Knowing your billing cycle is important for several reasons. First of all, it tells you when your payment is due and helps you avoid late or partial payment fees. Secondly, it helps you make purchase decisions. If you are going to buy a big item, such as a plasma TV, it’s a good idea to purchase it right after your billing cycle ends. Doing this gives you an entire billing cycle before interest starts setting in: this gives you more time to pay it off.

Open Another Checking Account: Opening a second free checking account is a trick that can be used to pay off your credit card balance each month. Every time you use your credit card, transfer the amount you spent from your primary account to you new account. For instance, if you charge $60 for gas, take $60 from your primary checking account and put it in the one you just opened. By doing this every day you will have accumulated exactly the same amount of money in this new account that you will need to payoff that month’s credit balance. Use this money to pay off your balance every month.

Look for a free checking account so you don’t end up paying any account maintenance fees to your bank.

Paying off your credit card is not impossible as long as you keep your debt manageable. Doing little things, like using cash for dinner instead of credit, can all work to help you manage your finances, which ultimately leads to helping you manage your life.