Deal with Your Debt: The Right Way to Manage Your Bill$ and Pay Off What You Owe

Gotchas for Those Who Pay Their Balances

Once you get your balances paid off, you can breathe a sigh of relief that you're no longer held hostage to the credit companies' rate games.

That doesn't mean you can lower your guard entirely. Because about 40% of credit card customers pay off their balances in full each month, card companies look for ways besides interest charges to ding them as well.

Late and over-limit fees are the obvious ways credit card companies can still get you, but there are others as well:

• Cash-advance fees. There are few more expensive ways of getting cash than using your credit card—loan sharks come to mind. Typically even the lowest-rate cards charge 19% or more when you get cash, and the charges start from the minute ...