I've seen how ugly things get when you keep credit cards around. They're like a relative who wants to crash at your pad for a day or two and is still there five weeks later. You wish you never brought them in. Only one thing is worse than getting a credit card; making the minimum payment on it.

Minimum payments may be small or large, but they'll waste dough like there's no tomorrow. Usual interest rates are between 18 and 30 percent. Al Capone didn't charge that much for payoffs. The longer it takes you to pay it off, the more cash you'll waste. To top it off, paying your balance down to a certain amount and then charging it right back up is dumber than a bag of hammers at Home Depot. You'll just drag it out.

The best recipe for getting out of debt and staying out? Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball and a good pair of scissors. Credit cards are bad news. Pay 'em off, cut 'em up and close 'em down, baby.