Top five / ten / sixty-two lists seem all the rage these days in blogs, so I thought I would make my own, inspired by a New York Times article this weekend entitled Couple Learns the High Price of Easy Credit. So here are my top five tips for avoiding credit card debt:

1. Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford
2. Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford
3. Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford
4. Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford
5. Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford

This list is inspired by a very funny SNL skit by the same name, which you can view here. The basic premise is this: If you cannot afford to purchase something, the don’t buy it! A credit card should be used for convenience, rewards, and building your credit score. If you wouldn’t be able to make the same purchase with a check, cash, or debit card, then it isn’t responsible to make that same purchase with a credit card either.

I was stunned when I read in the article that America’s total credit card debt is $880 billion dollars. This article cites a couple that owes $22,228 in debt on cards ranging from 12.1 to 32.24 percent interest. Some of that debt comes from costs incurred through higher education, which is a necessary burden most college attendees must take on. Yet this couple put that debt on a credit card instead of taking out student loans, which easily could have saved at least ten percent. Then, over several months, the couple spent $50,000 on wedding rings, a reception, a honeymoon, and a new bathroom!

There are, of course, situations where people cannot avoid accruing credit card debt. For some people, it is simply a mistake they make when younger that they have to learn and move on from. Yet a large portion of that credit card debt comes from people who do not follow a single one of the five tips outlined above; specifically the one which says don’t buy stuff you cannot afford.