Once you’ve chosen a credit card, being organized about when and how you pay your monthly bills is essential to keeping the cost of credit to a minimum. As long as you manage your account wisely, you’ll avoid paying penalty fees or late charges, and your bill will reflect only your expenses and any finance charges you’ve incurred.

Your credit card company will send you a billing statement every month at the end of your billing cycle, or the period of time between when you receive bills. The statement will tell you how much you owe and when payment is due. When you receive your monthly bill, be sure to check for two things:

• That every charge is accurate
• That each payment you’ve made shows up for the right amount

After you’ve confirmed that your statement is accurate, you can decide how much to pay over the minimum that’s due. Just keep in mind that paying the full balance within the grace period will help you avoid finance charges. That will limit the next month’s bills to the expenses you charge to your card.

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