No matter where you go today, it seems as if people are trying to get you to sign up for a credit card. When you turn on the television, there are countless advertisements promising this or that, telling you why their credit card is better than all the others.

When you turn on the Internet it's the same story. The nice thing about the Internet, though, is the fact that you can read all the fine print that the credit card companies so conveniently rush through in the commercials on the television.

If you take your family to the aquarium, there are credit card people there as well. In fact, most of them give you something right there on the spot just for filling out an application. Usually it's a T-shirt-shirt, something to do with the place they are using to solicit your business.

But what is really scary is when they go to college campuses and use their promises and free gifts to tempt college students into signing up for one of their cards. Its possible that the students have had a talk with their parents. It's even possible that they already have a credit card. But the stuff is free, so they fill out an application and get their freebie. There was one college student who actually had eleven T-shirts that she had been given because she applied for credit cards!

So, should you give into the pressure that credit card companies are putting on you to sign up for a credit card? Should you get a credit card to establish credit?

Well, the truth is that you can establish credit without a credit card, but it is a good thing to have in case of emergencies. If you are a college student with a student loan, you already have established credit. Anytime you take out a loan, that affects your credit. So, you have established credit without even realizing it!

One of the dangers of credit cards is that it is so easy to just whip them out to use for small things instead of paying cash. The problem is that if you don't pay your bill right away, that three dollar mocha latte ends up costing over twenty dollars when you add in the interest and late fees.

Credit cards are a good thing to have for emergencies, such as your car breaking down, or a flat tire, but be careful when you use them for things that you could just as easily pay cash for. That latte may end up costing you more than you expected someday.