Credit card default is a predicament no one enters into purposely, that is to say, unless your intent is to file for bankruptcy.http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/Bankruptcy.aspx Only if your ambition is to ruin your credit and destroy your finances for years to come, follow the steps outlined in How to Default on Your Credit Cards Defaulting on your credit cards is one of the easiest things in the world to do. If you lack conscience, memory, or income, you are well on your way to succeeding. Failing to pay the minimum due, failing to pay the minimum on time, and failing to make any payment at all are the foremost methods of entering default.

Of course, once you have entered credit card default, your interest rates will likely skyrocket and your debt predicament will deepen exponentially. After a few months, rather than receiving calls from the card companies themselves, you will receive calls from collection agencies. Your credit rating will plummet. You will no longer be able to use your cards. If your cards had high spending limits, you may find yourself tens of thousands of dollars in debt. You may not be able to get a car loan, a home loan, or even a job. You may decide to consolidate card payments, but repayment may take years and years. And if you miss a payment once the consolidation deal is set up, you will be right back where you started. In that case, bankruptcy, the blackest blot you can place on your credit record, may be your only option.

With These facts in mind, we hope you will follow none of the advice in Steps 1 through 3, below, but will make your card payments timely, pay more than the minimum due, and NEVER charge more than you know you can quickly pay off.

1. Do NOT read the fine print. That's right. Make no effort and take no trouble to understand the terms and conditions of your credit card agreement. Very likely, you will stumble into default altogether unaware that you are running afoul of the contract you yourself signed!

2. Run your cards up to the limit. Spend like a drunken sailor. Shop 'til you drop! And don't let that sinking feeling that you are living beyond your means ever enter into your conscious mind.

(Creative Commons photo by Mike)

• Toss away those antiquated notions of duty, honor, and obligation. Forget about all that!

1. Pay your bills when you get around to it....if at all.
2. Show up at work only if you feel like it...and do a slipshod job.
3. When you start getting calls from creditors, don't bother to return them.

1. Follow step 2 of Step 2 above, and you will eventually be let go. Guaranteed.

2. Find yourself in a collapsing economy: Even if you have ignored step 2 of Step 2, you may end up without a job, anyway.

3. For trust funders, have a smackdown with your parents, grandparents, or other heretofore generous relatives, and get yourself cut off -- for good!