I remember in the 2008-2009 recession, it was because of credit that I was able to see myself through, she explained. I actually went and got extra credit cards as a safety measure so I would have food to eat and a safe place to stay.If youve recently seen a drop in your income and your credit history is good, Tiffany suggests applying for a new credit card now. She says that new credit card can help you pay some of your essential bills like utilities, gas, transportation, groceries, medication, medical bills and even insurance. Paying these bills on credit will allow you to keep what limited cash you have for the bills you cant pay with credit. Make sure you keep paying at least the minimum payment on your credit card each month.

Tax season and credit cards seem to go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly, at least if you believe the findings of a recent study conducted by Credit Card Insider. Using SurveyMonkey to conduct an online survey of 3,114 adults from Feb. 3-5, Credit Card Insider found out the following information when it comes to how important credit cards are for people during tax season. 14% of respondents who expected to owe this year planned on using a credit card to pay their taxes. Of those expecting a tax refund, 40% had credit card debt. 75% of those with debt plan to use their tax refund toward paying it off.