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   1. Tart of the Month
   2. Card Tart
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Credit cards bring a lot of happiness to peoples lives, but there is also a murky side to be wary of. Used smartly, you can make your credit card work well for you, but if you mistreat it in anyway, it will have you in a headlock begging for mercy before you can say cash back.

The name gives you an idea of the function a credit card has - essentially you can spend money that you don't necessarily have. Not really a good thing because you will have to pay the money back eventually. And the interest rate at which you have to repay the money is the key here.

The options

If you don't plan to pay off your credit card bill every month, it is possible to get cards with 0% interest for a limited time, but this rate is only for a fixed period (usually a few months) and then the interest will rise to anywhere between 10% and 20%. If you look around hard enough, these rates will vary.

Low interest credit cards - you can get cards with a fixed low interest rate, which are better in the long term if you can't be sure of paying off your card every month. Look out for charges on withdrawing cash, balance transfers and purchases - these do vary, so make sure you know what you're signing up for. There are also secured credit cards and prepaid credit cards that have much less risk associated.

Any extras

Look out for 0% credit cards. Once your 0% period runs out, you can move your balance to another card for another period of interest free credit. This is called card tarting and is effectively shuffling your debt around, but it is perfectly legal. It's more work for you, but it is estimated that card tarting costs the financial industry around £1bn a year in lost revenue - you can make your money be part of that.

See the separate section, you tart!

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 If you pay your people in peanuts, you will get monkeys. 

Philip Kotler