Credit card expert Beverly Harzog shares how she went from being a credit card disaster to a credit card diva. When Beverly got out of college, she spent the next 10 years racking up debt on seven credit cards. Credit card limits, she believed, were merely "guidelines," certainly not anything to be taken seriously...especially if she was in dire need of a new pair of shoes. The fact that she was a CPA at the time adds an ironic twist to the credit quagmire she slowly descended into. In Confessions of a Credit Junkie , Beverly candidly details her own credit card mishaps and offers easy-to-follow advice, often with a touch of Southern humor, to help others avoid them. In this much-needed book, you'll learn: How to use the Credit Card Personality Quiz to choose the right credit cards - The seven ways to use a credit card to rebuild credit - How to get out of debt using a balance transfer credit card--and pay zero interest while doing it - Credit card strategies to save a bundle on groceries, gas, and more Anyone in debt will benefit from the down-to-earth, practical tips Beverly offers. "With debt a common denominator in this country, consumers need a strong voice and a helping hand to guide them towards a better financial life. Beverly is precisely that--and more--when it comes to credit cards. Her book is a must-read." --Farnoosh Torabi, personal finance expert, contributor to The Today Show, and author of Psych Yourself Rich "Beverly Harzog knows what it's like to make mistakes with credit cards--and to recover from those mistakes without swearing off plastic. Harzog provides a smart, realistic guide to managing your credit and making the most of your cards." --Liz Weston, author of The 10 Commandments of Money "Beverly Harzog is a credit warrior. She has gone into the arena, faced the lions, and emerged as one of the foremost experts in the field. I believe that her encyclopedic knowledge of the world of credit cards is unmatched." --Adam Levin, chairman and cofounder, Credit.com "Beverly makes the complex world of credit cards seem so easy to understand. Every cardholder can benefit from her wonderful insight." --Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com ― Reviews Beverly Harzog is a nationally recognized credit card expert, author, and consumer advocate. She's appeared on Fox News, CNN Newsource, ABC News Now, and top media markets across the country. She is a frequent guest on syndicated radio shows, and her advice appears regularly in print and on major Websites, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, SmartMoney, Money Magazine, U.S. World & News Report, New York Daily News, the Washington Post, MSNMoney.com, CNNMoney.com, and many more. Beverly runs a popular credit card blog on her Website and has coauthored two books, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Person-to-Person Lending and Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! She lives in Johns Creek, Georgia, with her husband and two children. Confessions of a Credit Junkie Everything You Need to Know to Avoid the Mistakes I Made By Beverly Harzog Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC Copyright © 2014 Beverly Harzog All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60163-294-4 Contents Foreword by Liz Weston, Introduction, Chapter 1: 10 Mistakes I Made That You Never Have To, Chapter 2: Your Credit Life Explained in Simple Language, Chapter 3: What's Your Credit Card Personality?, Chapter 4: The Fine Print Made Easy, Chapter 5: Your First Credit Card: Build Credit, Stay Debt-Free, Chapter 6: Plain Vanilla Credit Cards, Chapter 7: Rewards Credit Cards for Fun and Profit, Chapter 8: The Good and the Bad of Business Cards, Chapter 9: Get Out of Debt With a Balance Transfer Card, Chapter 10: Seven Ways to Use a Credit Card to Rebuild Credit, Chapter 11: Extreme Credit: Strategies for the Power User, Chapter 12: Hot Credit Card Trends to Watch, Appendix: A Credit Card Glossary, Index, About the Author, CHAPTER 1 10 Mistakes I Made That You Never Have To You can think of this chapter as the credit card version of the reality TV show What Not to Wear. It's an appropriate way to look at it because a lot of my debt came from purchasing designer clothes. I had a difficult time trying to decide which mistake to talk about first because, you know, they're all pretty big. But when I think back to when it all began, it's really the credit card offers that stick out in my mind. I know that it seems like a fairly unimportant detail to settle on. But I still remember holding the offer letters and thinking about how important I'd become. It was like a Sally Field moment: You like me! You really like me. It didn't cross my mind that millions of other people got these same offers. Basically, the banks really liked everyone. So after I settled on the credit card offers as the first mistake, I started listing all of the other mistakes I made. And, you know what, they kind of fell into a logical progression. Mistak