CREDIT is booming like never before. As offers to take up new cards drop through the letter-box almost daily, it is easy to see how some people slip into financial bother.

Having too many cards, and playing one off against another, can lead to great difficulties - especially if ever more cards are signed up in the hope of sorting out the mess.

The old-fashioned notion of only buying what you could afford has long since lost its attraction in today's more acquisitive society, in which instant gratification is the thing.

There can be a high price to pay for running up huge debts, as was illustrated last week by the story of Merseysiders Tony and Michelle Meadows, whose second mortgage debt spiralled to an astonishing £384,000. Thankfully for the Meadows, a judge ordered that the "extortionate" load should be written off.

Borrowing money is very easy nowadays - far too easy, some would say. Yet there is a way through the credit card maze, as we report tonight. Margaret Maltby is proud to declare herself card-savvy. She uses credit cards to her advantage, taking out low or no-interest loans on cards and, once the load is paid, switching to another card offering a similarly attractive rate.

Such astute use of credit cards has kept Margaret in financially good shape for 15 years. She is, it seems, beating the banks at their own game. Perhaps we should all have a go. The only word of caution is that you have to be clever with debt or, like the Meadows of Merseyside, you could end up being swamped.

Updated: 10:54 Monday, November 01, 2004