That's exactly where the fear comes from. Credit cards are really a test of financial self control, and a lot of people have really poor self control. Many people also don't seem to truly understand how interest works, they just see easy access to money in exchange for a monthly payment that they can afford.
Credit card companies have also intentionally targeted people with poor financial literacy. When I was high school and college (late 90s/early 2000s) it was really common for companies to set up booths on college campuses offering credit to kids who had little or no understanding of what they were signing up for and no source of income. I think regulations were eventually passed after some public outrage in response to news stories about college kids wracking up five figures of CC debt with no means to pay it off.
The rules are simple:
- don't eat unless you're hungry
- don't eat more calories than you expend. That's a general rule of health. As soon as you have an overage your whole goal should be getting that cleared up as fast as possible
- calories are only a tool to fuel your body. so don't eat them if you don't need them.
- don’t pay for one, unless you can justify the perks
- don’t spend more money than you have. That’s a general rule of finances. I know people get into emergencies. Try to keep the overage as small as possible for as little time as possible. As soon as you have an overage your whole goal should be getting that debt cleared up as fast as possible.
- credit cards are only a tool to tell the financial world you are are responsible. So don’t use one if you can’t pay it back.