SWIPING PLASTIC: It can sometimes be difficult to make a purchase if you don't have a credit card — or impossible, in the event that you need to make a hotel reservation or rent a car.

Sure, plastic can wreak havoc, but when used properly a credit card can be a tool to ensure your financial stability and make you a candidate for better terms on automobile loans and home mortgages.

Atlanta-based Consumer Credit Counselling Service offers these tips for consumers to manage their credit:

—Snowball your debt. Instead of spreading payments around to all of your credit accounts, focus on paying down one card while maintaining minimums on others. Start with either the card that has the lowest balance or the highest interest rate.

—Allow your creditor to raise your limit, even when you are paying down your cards. Ideally, consumers should use only 20 to 30 percent of their available credit, so increasing your limit will improve your debt to available credit ratio.

—Choose major credit cards over small retail cards. While that 20 percent off today's purchase might be enticing, higher interest rates and less favorable terms might negate any savings. Major card issuers have reward programs that might meet your needs while offering credit with little or no fees and lower rates.

—Use distraction techniques. If you are an impulse shopper, putting your cards "on ice" will give you time to reflect on your personal financial goals before making a purchase that can send you off course. Some consumers literally freeze their cards in blocks of ice; others might store cards in a hard-to-reach place, such as a safe-deposit box at a local bank.

—Pay off your debt, don't just move it around. Zero-interest introductory offers entice many consumers to shuffle their debt from one card to another. In many cases, these short-term offers are followed by long-term effects, such as transfer fees, higher interest rates and shorter payment times that might cost you much more in the long run.

—Don't close an account when you pay off a card. It decreases your available credit and can have a negative effect on your credit score.