This document, which was written for adult educators in Georgia, offers instructional plans and practical strategies for helping students in adult literacy, adult basic education (ABE), General Educational Development, and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs understand the credit traps that can hurt them. The document begins with a discussion of the businesses that take advantage of the many individuals who are shunned by mainstream banks and the importance of educating ABE and ESL students about the potential pitfalls of dealing with those businesses. The remainder of the document presents and explains three learning activities designed to teach adult students to make wise personal decisions about using credit in their lives. The first activity explains how interest works. In the second activity, students are taught to use basic math skills to determine how much credit really costs. In the third activity, students apply what they have learned about calculating the cost of credit by conducting outside research of community businesses (a rent-to-own shop and a pawn shop). The following items are included for each activity: overview and rationale; list of skills developed in the activity; materials needed; steps educators should take to prepare for and conduct the activity; discussion questions; and student handout. (MN)