It has been seen that indulgences, appearances and conveniences are the three main reasons most people use their credit cards. One very common example of convenience is using your credit card to buy lunch at a fast food store. Do the math and see how much you can save every month if you skip the store bought food and instead carry food from home. The average worker in the United States spends as much as $150 every month on just his or her lunch on a workday. Carrying a sack lunch just a few days every week can reduce that cost by more than $75 every month! Next come indulgences and it is quite a vicious circle. First you shop to beat stress, and then you get the midweek blues and go out for dinner with friends. On both occasions you have used your card. The bills come in and you are stressed once again! So you go out to the mall and pick up something to make you feel better, and so the cycle continues. Then there are appearances.

        Most Americans are trying to be like those fabulous people on TV, unaware that a new study by the U.S. Department of Labor has pointed out that 96 percent Americans go broke by the time they reach 65 years of age.

        So what is the right thing to do? Throw away your credit cards, use only use debit cards instead and be debt-free.

        The second good reason to sell would be when significant changes are reported in the particular company or the industry. Both may lead to ups and downs in the stock market, so you should act accordingly. The third reason would be to cash in on a sudden rise in the stock prices and selling them off for a hefty profit.