“Most people ignore their debt until it’s such a serious problem that they have very few options left,” says Mike Sullivan, director of education for Take Charge America. “But there are times when you’re going to have to give up things you’ve taken for granted. If you don’t, someone will do it for you.”

Making deep cuts in your spending might hurt, but remember — you don’t have to cut back forever. Here are five painful but effective ways to get rid of credit card debt.

1. Cut the cable: It might be painful to imagine living without 200 channels at your fingertips, but at $75 per month and up, cable TV subscriptions quickly turn into serious expenses. Yet there are other options to get your entertainment fix.

For $7.99 a month, you can get unlimited online streaming from Netflix (which offers thousands of movies and shows) directly onto your TV. Other cost-effective options include Hulu.com and Amazon Instant Video. Google is getting in on the action as well with Google TV, which lets you use the Internet to watch video with your television.

2. Scale back phone services. Take a careful look at what you spend on phone services each month, and get the axe out. Most households don’t need both a cell phone and a landline. If a cell phone is a must-have, consider canceling your landline. If you like having a number that’s separate from your cell number, you can replace your landline with voice-over IP (VOIP) technology, which allows you to make calls using your Internet connection. Services like Ooma and Google Voice are free for calls within the U.S. You’ll just need to buy the hardware needed to make the calls.

In addition, take a careful look at that cell phone bill. Are you paying for more minutes each month than you actually use? Is it time for the kids to scale back that torrent of text messages? Are you utilizing your free night and weekend minutes? Once you start looking, you might be surprised at how many features you can do without.

3. Don’t eat out so often. You might not be the next Julia Child, but cooking your own meals instead of eating out is healthy for your body and wallet. A simple thing like bringing lunch to work, even just three times a week, can save $100 to $150 a month. Cooking dinner at home instead of going out can add another $200 to $300 a month in savings.

4. Cut back on car expenses. Next to housing and food, car expenses are one of the biggest budget items. Reevaluating how you use your wheels can unlock savings.

• Carpool. If you live in a metropolitan area, check out sites like RideSearch.com or eRideshare.com to find opportunities for carpooling in your area. Carpooling might entail significantly altering your schedule — but splitting gas costs can help you free up money that was going straight into your tank.

• Keep your car longer. If you take good care of your car, it will likely provide reliable transportation up to 100,000 miles. If you’re in the habit of trading your wheels in every few years, consider hanging onto your vehicle for a bit longer. Not having a car payment can help you make significant headway in whittling down your debt.

• Scale back or downsize. Many households are in the habit of having two or more cars. If you’re having trouble making ends meet, consider paring your fleet down to one. It can be painful to coordinate several family members’ commutes, activities and errands. But making the effort to do so could mean one less monthly car payment.

5. Take a shopping break. Try putting your wallet in the drawer for three to six months and taking it out only for grocery shopping. Postpone major purchases, avoid purchasing new clothing, pass up on irresistible sales offers and stay away from the mall.

At the end of six months, make a list of the things you absolutely do need and purchase them. This might be shock therapy for chronic shopaholics, and it’s not for everyone. Yet taking six-month shopping breaks can leave you with more money to tackle your debt.

Radically changing spending habits is never pleasurable, and you may find it useful to get a coach, such as a credit counselor, to help you make the best decisions.

“Credit counseling isn’t just for people with serious problems. Credit counselors can also simply help you manage your finances better,” says Sandy Shore, a spokeswoman with Novadebt.org. “By looking at your financial situation, a credit counselor will be able to see where your money goes and suggest options for cutting back best suited to your situation.”

See also: 10 Painless (and Not So Painless) Debt Fixes

Nearly four years into the economic downturn, layoffs continue to swell the ranks of the unemployed, and job hunters face stiff competition for a shrinking number of jobs.

Now, as more people compete for fewer positions, many employers are performing credit checks on prospective employees, disadvantaging job hunters with bad credit.

If your credit history is poor, it may still be possible to secure a position in your chosen field, say experts, but you will need to be more proactive in your job search.

Here are nine tips that can help you overcome the stigma of bad credit when job hunting:

1. Know which employers are likely to require credit checks.
If the thought of employers doing credit checks intimidates you, take heart in the fact that checking prospective employees’ credit isn’t a universal phenomenon. To a large degree, it depends on which profession you’re in, and it also varies from company to company.

According to a 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), almost half of the companies surveyed (47 percent) look at the credit history of candidates for select jobs, but only about 13 percent conduct credit checks on all job candidates. Four out of 10 organizations reported that they do not conduct credit checks at all.

In nine out of 10 cases, employers will do a credit check on people applying for jobs that involve financial responsibilities, according to the SHRM survey. For senior executive positions, 46 percent of companies report that they check the person’s credit report, and for positions involving access to highly confidential employee information, about one third of employers pull reports.

Other professions where credit checks are more likely to be involved include government jobs (both on the federal, state and local level), as well as jobs for prospective firefighters, police, paramedics and other professionals who may have access to people’s homes.

2. Check your state’s laws.
Increasingly, states are introducing privacy laws prohibiting employers from running credit checks, except for a limited number of specific professions.

According to Beth Givens, Director of the Privacy Rights Clearing House, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in San Diego, CA, six states already have laws in place that curb credit checks on prospective employees. These include Illinois, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut, Washington and Maryland. In January 2012, California will join that list, and more states have pending legislation limiting employers’ ability to perform credit checks on job applicants.

3. Pull your credit reports.
Most people have a general sense of what’s in their credit report, but reviewing your report is important when preparing to apply for jobs.

“Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus and become familiar with what is on those reports,” Givens recommends. “It’s important that you know exactly what employers will see.”

You are entitled to a free copy of all three credit reports once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. Keep in mind that certain information on credit reports is not available to employers, including your credit score and sensitive financial information.

4. Know what employers consider important.
When evaluating credit reports, employers look at reports in a different way than banks and other prospective lenders.

A bank, for example, would consider a home foreclosure to be a deal-breaker if considering an applicant for a mortgage loan. However, according to the SHRM survey, only 11 percent of employers consider home foreclosures when making hiring decisions. In addition, survey respondents said that medical debt was not a factor in their decision making.

What do employers consider to be a deal-breaker? According to SHRM, 64 percent of companies surveyed said their hiring decisions would likely be affected if an applicant had outstanding judgments from prior lawsuits. And half of the organizations surveyed said they were likely to pass on applicants with accounts in debt collection.

5. Know when to broach the topic of your credit history.
In general, if you have bad credit and apply for a job with a company that is likely to check your credit report, you want to be the first to broach the topic. However, don’t bring up the topic unless you think it will be an issue.

“If you’re applying for a job where your credit history matters, you’re better off bringing up the topic sooner rather than later,” says David Couper, a career coach and author of “Outsiders on the Inside: How to Create a Winning Career When You Don’t Fit In.” “However, if credit checks are not routine for your profession, you also have to look at the organization. Bigger companies tend to have more policies and guidelines, while a small company may not run those checks at all.”

6. Explain the larger context.
There are a million reasons why people run into financial trouble. In today’s economy in particular, credit problems often speak more to the state of the economy than about your ability to handle money.

Employers realize that. According to the SHRM survey, among employers doing credit checks, 87 percent said they may allow candidates to explain the circumstances that led to the bad marks on their credit report.

If extenuating circumstances, such as medical expenses or long-term unemployment, played a part in your financial troubles, let your prospective employer know. Providing the context of how the events unfolded can go a long way toward making prospective employers take a different view of your credit problems. If you are able to demonstrate that your bad credit is not a sign of irresponsibility or inability to manage money, but due to circumstances beyond your control, it can often counteract any bad impression that a poor credit history would otherwise create.

7. Show how you are taking care of the situation.
Describe the steps you are taking to deal with your debt. Many people understand that bad things happen to good people. Be confident and demonstrate that you’re dealing with the problem effectively. Employers need to feel confident that ongoing financial problems won’t distract you in your new job.

8. Focus on how qualified you are for the position.
Your credit history doesn’t necessarily reflect on your ability to perform well on the job. By giving a strong interview and illustrating how perfectly your strengths line up with job requirements, you may be able to convince a potential employer to look past bad credit.

9. Use networking and recommendations to your advantage.
A vote of confidence from a reliable source can score you a job that otherwise may be out of reach. Personal recommendations are likely to sway an employer’s opinion and can compensate for a dissuasive credit history.

“The more you can capitalize on personal contacts, the better,” says Couper. “If you have a personal contact with the hiring manager, they are more likely to not be concerned about your credit history. If you apply online where people don’t know you at all, it will be more of a problem.”

(Story updated 10-26-2011. Originally published 11-10-2009.)

For many couples unable to make ends meet, credit cards easily become the preferred solution, says Melinda Opperman, senior vice president of community outreach and industry relations at the nonprofit credit management association Springboard.

“Unfortunately, that just masks the underlying issues, and such couples often end up getting deeper and deeper into debt,” notes Opperman in an email. “In the face of recession we’ve seen couples waiting too long to address the problem, and then the credit card debt becomes unmanageable.”

Couples looking to pay down debt often have to navigate challenging relationship dynamics. For this reason, it’s all too easy for debt issues to translate into relationship problems. To help you not just pare back debt, but come out stronger as a couple, here are six tips for dealing with credit card debt.

1. Face the facts. As long as there is credit left on the credit cards, it’s easy to ignore the reality that you two are not making ends meet and getting deeper into debt every day. Get real and face the facts. Avoid the temptation to believe that things will get better tomorrow, that maybe one of you will find a higher paying job, get a raise or win in the lottery. Being in denial, unfortunately, won’t solve your problems.

2. Talk. Most likely one of you will realize that something is amiss before the other does. According to Opperman, it’s not unusual for one partner to see the importance of addressing the couple’s financial concerns and make necessary life changes, while the other partner is not ready to face reality.

To establish common ground, it’s key to sit down and talk. This can be a delicate process, so it’s important to approach it the right way. When talking with your partner about difficult money topics, you get much further if you begin by framing the discussion in a positive way, says Sandra Hanna, co-author of “The Smart Cookies’ Guide to Couples and Money: Earn More, Argue Less, Achieve the Life You Want . . . Together.”

“It’s so easy to play the blame game, especially if one person is accumulating more debt than the other,” says Hanna. “But don’t point the finger, it will just make your partner defensive.”

Instead, Hanna says, suggest a time where you can sit down to talk in a neutral place about your financial goals as a couple. Debt often accumulates when you live without reference to long-term plans and goals. Once you spend some time talking about what your long-term goals are, it should become obvious that your current spending habits won’t help you reach those goals. Let the conversation about how to pare back your debt grow out of that realization, rather than forcing it on your partner.

3. Get an overview of where you stand. Once you decide it’s time to tackle your debt problems, sit down and create an overview of your financial situation, if you haven’t done so already.

Write down your total fixed monthly living expenses, including mortgage and other debt payments, rent payments, food expenses, transportation and other fixed costs. Be sure to include periodic expenses, such as insurance, as well as future expenses coming up within the next year. Subtract the total fixed expenses from your combined total monthly income to get the amount of money left over each month to pay down credit card debt.

For each of your credit cards, list the balance, the interest rates, the minimum payment due each month as well as the monthly payment you’d have to make to pay the debt off in three years (you will find this information listed on your credit card statement). Of course, you can pay credit card debt off faster or slower, but the three-year benchmark is a good starting point.

4. Make a plan. Now that you have a rough overview of where you stand, it’s time to make a plan. If you have enough money left over at the end of the month to make the payments that would erase all credit card debt in three years or even faster, congratulations! You can pride yourself with taking steps to tackle your debt before it gets out of hand. However, it’s always preferable to get rid of debt faster, so you still want to consider the tips listed in point 5 to pay off the debt more aggressively.

On the other hand, if you don’t have enough money left over at the end of month to even pay the minimum on the credit card debt, your finances are in need of some time in the intensive care unit. In situations like this, you might consider seeking the advice of a trustworthy credit counselor, who can help you get your financial situation back on track.

Most people fall somewhere between these two scenarios. Irrespectively, the next step is to free up money to pare back your credit card debt faster.

5. Look for ways to generate more cash. To free up money in your budget for debt payments, you’ll have to agree to cut unnecessary expenses. And most likely, you will have different ideas about what constitutes unnecessary expenses. Saying ‘no’ to something you’re used to having is never easy, and it’s even harder when you have to agree with someone else to do it.

For ideas on where to cut, see this list of ways to free up money to pay back credit card debt faster. Start with the things you can easily agree on, and if that’s still enough, tackle some of the less obvious ones. Also look for ways to consolidate credit card debt to reduce the interest you’re paying.

6. Talk some more. If you two have unresolved issues around money, they are bound to come up during a challenging time like this. Chances are that you two will be forced to confront sensitive topics you so far have tended to avoid.

“Often the arguments are more about how the money is to be spent than on how much money couples have,” says Opperman. “Money represents the values, expectations and personal meaning that is attached to the money. That is often the true root of the argument. Unfortunately, many couples never figure this out.”

It is said that the couples who last are those who are able to work through conflicts. Resolving your debt issues will challenge you to develop greater financial intimacy. However, if you rise to that challenge, you will likely find that it also leads to greater emotional intimacy.

Of course, the opposite can also be true. Because couples struggling with credit card debt typically face challenges on multiple fronts, it’s often a good idea to seek help from an independent third party, such as a credit counselor. A credit counselor can help you develop a financial action plan tailored to your unique situation. Working with a neutral, third party can also be a great way to take the edge off the emotional underpinnings of the problems you are facing.

“A credit counselor can communicate to the couple that it’s not financially irresponsible to have a circumstance out of your control,” says Opperman.

The best way to guard against such unexpected expenses is to set up an emergency fund and save for a rainy day. But for many people, the battle to make ends meet and stay out of credit card debt is ongoing — and in such situations, emergency expenses are rarely the main cause.

Here are the three most common budget busters that lead consumers into debt — and how to avoid them.

Budget buster #1: Periodic expenses
You’ve created a budget and are doing a great job at staying within your spending limit for groceries, household purchases, transportation, entertainment and so on. And then, suddenly, a bill arrives for the annual auto registration, and you’re back in the red.

“Periodic expenses are a critical part of the budget, but many people forget that,” says Kim McGrigg, manager of community and media relations at Money Management International, a leading nonprofit credit counseling agency. “Again and again, people tell me that they were doing great at staying within budget, until they had to pay their taxes, their car registration, their insurance, summer vacation or whatever.”

McGrigg says that many consumers mistake certain types of periodic expenses for emergencies. For example, a refrigerator needing to be replaced or routine car repairs might seem like an emergency, but they are normal, predictable events that consumers need to plan for.

“I always tell people to assume that something will need to be repaired during the year,” says McGrigg. “While a car accident definitely is an emergency, things like needing new tires or occasional repairs are not.”

How to avoid this budget buster: McGrigg recommends that people make a list of all their periodic expenses that are not paid on a regular monthly basis. These include vacations and holiday expenses, back-to-school expenses, property taxes and other taxes, auto registrations, insurance payments and so on. Be sure to include an estimate for maintenance expenses that occur from time to time — including car repairs, appliances needing to be replaced, household maintenance and so on.

Based on that list, determine the total annual amount for periodic expenses. Divide the total by 12 to get the amount that needs to be put aside each month to cover these expenses as they come up. McGrigg recommends setting up an automatic bank transfer of that amount into a dedicated savings account each month so that the money is no longer available to spend.

Budget buster #2: Comfort shopping
You’ve heard of comfort foods and comfort eating, but what about comfort shopping? Well, comfort foods may be part of a larger tendency that we humans have: To cheer ourselves up when feeling down, we often try to reward ourselves. And, undeniably, shopping is right up there with chocolate and ice cream as a great pick-me-up — without the calories!

An occasional shopping spree can be okay — if you’ve budgeted for it. However, if you feel like hitting the mall whenever you’ve had a bad day at work or just need a break from the stresses and frustrations of life, comfort shopping can quickly turn into more of a problem than a cure.

How to avoid this budget buster: To avoid those bloated credit card bills at the end of the month, take an honest look at your spending habits. If your way of dealing with life’s frustrations is sabotaging your financial wellness, it may be time to retool your problem-solving habits. Otherwise, you could find yourself with a much bigger set of problems down the road.

At its most extreme, comfort shopping can turn into compulsive spending. For people struggling with an outright shopping addiction, McGrigg recommends seeking professional help from an organization like Debtors Anonymous.

Budget buster #3: Following the wrong money script
How we intend to spend our money and how we actually spend it are often two different things. In a survey by Money magazine, 94 percent of respondents said they planned to make lasting changes to how they handle their money due to the recession. However, history tells another story.

“Most people are conditioned to follow certain money scripts, and they don’t even realize it,” says Stacy Tisdale, a financial journalist and co-author of “The True Cost of Happiness.” “So people tend to fall back into their old habits, as soon as their finances improve.”

According to Tisdale, the way we spend our money is typically governed by beliefs and attitudes we may not be aware of. These include the lessons we learned as children. How we saw money handled when we were young tends to be how we handle it when we grow up. The influences from society and the media also impact our attitudes; we are constantly bombarded with ads and marketing messages that would have us believe that success (and our value as human beings) is measured by the car we drive or the clothes we wear.

“When people have issues with money, they go straight to the numbers, but the real cause of that financial experience has nothing to do with money,” says Tisdale. “It’s much more about our learned beliefs and the influencing factors can blind us to our true values, and prevent us from making the best decisions in regards to our finances.”

How to avoid this budget buster: Tisdale recommends creating a new money script based on what your real goals and values are. Take the time to think about the five main goals you would like to achieve over the next year, and write them down. Then, for each, figure out what you need to do and what sacrifices need to be made to achieve those goals.

“Being very clear on your goals will help you change your attitude and make you more conscious about the implications of purchase decisions,” says Tisdale. “Each time you want to buy something, ask yourself whether you can afford it and if it’s in line with your goals. If not, you need to ask yourself why you’re purchasing it.”

Tisdale gives the example of one year when she wanted to save for a trip to Paris. “I put a picture of the Eiffel tower in my wallet next to where my credit card is,” she recalls. “That made a huge difference.”

Our personal finances, of course, are no exception. For all but the very few, living the life of our dreams takes a lot more than good fortune. Of course, if you don’t know where you’re going, chances are, no matter how many steps you take, you won’t make it to your destination.

All Americans want to plan for a comfortable financial future; but less than 5 percent have a written financial plan for how to get there, says Bryan Link, CEO of the free online financial planning service SimpliFi.com. Yet, those with a financial plan are almost three times as likely to hit their financial and retirement goals, say experts.

Financial planning involves many variables, and it can be as detailed, or as complicated,as you want it to be. Whether you’re looking at a short-term financial goal — like getting rid of credit card debt or saving for a new car — or at a long-term goal, like saving for retirement, the first step is the same: Create a budget to get a picture of where you stand and how much money you can save each month.

To find out whether you’re on track for a better financial future, take this simple three-step test:

Take the test

1. List your current income.
List your after-tax monthly income, and be sure to include other sources of income, such as investment income, child support, tips and so on.

2. List monthly expenses.
Get out the bills from the last few months, and create a list of fixed monthly expenses. For variable expenses, you may need to track expenditures over at least a month. Write down anything you spend money on that is not part of a monthly, recurring bill. Create a separate category for debt payments and total monthly payments by type ( for example, credit cards, car loans or mortgage). Finally, create a total for all of your debt payments.

3. Find out where you stand.
This is the moment of truth. Once you feel confident that you have included all expenses, subtract them from your total income.

Grade yourself

How did you do? Grade yourself A, B or C, according to the following outcomes:

Give yourself an A if: You have money left over at the end of the month. Congratulations! You are managing your money well, either because you are a careful spender or because you earn enough money to easily fund your lifestyle.

What to do next: If you haven’t created a long-term investment strategy yet or planned for retirement, it’s time to move on to this important step. Consider setting up automatic monthly transfers into an investment or retirement account, and be sure to take full advantage of any employee matching savings plan offered by your employer.

Give yourself a B if: Your income and expenses are equal. The good news is that you’re not ending each month with a higher credit card balance or getting deeper into other types of debt. The bad news is that you are likely living paycheck to paycheck and not creating the foundation for a better financial future.

What to do next: Make a note of where you’d like to be financially in five years, and decide for yourself whether you’re willing to prioritize getting there. Then take a careful look at your monthly expenditures to see where you might be willing to cut expenses in order to achieve those goals.

Give yourself a C if: Your expenses are higher than your income. You also fall into this category if you rely on credit cards to make ends meet each month and if you pay only the minimum amount due on your cards.

What to do next: It’s time to get serious about your finances to avoid financial hardship down the road. Your first priority should be to pay back credit card debt and scale back other debt obligations. Set a goal to reduce the total amount you pay each month (including rent, mortgage and credit card payments) to less than 35 percent of your monthly income. Look for ways to cut back on expenses and, until your debt is scaled back, consider taking on a part-time job to increase your income.

Unless you’re independently wealthy, your financial goals are probably something like this: Spend less and save more. Here are six tips to spring clean your finances and develop better habits for the New Year, courtesy of experts at the nonprofit credit counseling agency, Money Management International:

1. Take stock
It’s the 28th of the month. Do you know where your paycheck went? Chances are that a great deal of it has already been spent, and you only have a vague idea of how you spent it. Most of us pay for expenses as they come. Then, at the end of the month, we wonder why the credit card bills are so high, or why there is so little money left in our bank account.

The key to financial stability is not just how much money you earn. It is also how you spend it. Money has a way of flowing through our hands like water. If you don’t keep track of it, you won’t know what to keep — and what to cut.

Tip: For the next three months, track your expenses. Carry a notebook with you, and enter all your expenses as they come up — including that cup of joe at Starbucks or that soft drink from the local 711. Keep a running total in a spreadsheet or a book-keeping program like Quicken or Quickbooks. Or, even better, use one of the many great websites available to help you track your spending and rein in debt.

2. Evaluate your spending profile
Once you have recorded about a month’s worth of expenditures, take a look at your spending profile. For all but the extremely frugal, this can be a real eye opener.
Tip: Make a list of all your fixed and variable expenses, and divide them into two separate columns in a spreadsheet. Fixed expenses include utilities, car payments, rent or mortgage, credit card payments, cable TV, cell phone and any monthly subscriptions. Don’t forget to also include fixed expenses that aren’t due monthly, such as insurance payments. Then, total the expenses for each category to get a snapshot of where you stand. Calculate how much you spend each month on fixed expenses and variable expenses.

3. Look for ways to reduce spending
Now that you know where your money goes, it should be a lot easier to look for ways to cut back on spending. For most people, saving money doesn’t mean just cutting out one or two large expenditures. It’s usually a trickle of many small savings that add up to big savings. Here is one example from the America Saves coalition of how saving even just a small amount can add up to an extra $150 each month:

• Save $.50 in loose change and save $18 a month.
• Cut soda consumption by one liter a week and save $6 a month.
• Bring lunch to work and save $60 a month.
• Send one free e-card per month instead of buying a card and save $4 a month.
• Buy grocery story brands and save $10 a month.
• Use fewer phone features and save $10 a month.
• Eliminate premium cable channels and save $20 a month.
• Borrow, rather than buy, one book per month and save $15 a month.
• Hand wash, rather than dry clean, one shirt per month and save $3 a month.
• Comparison shop for gas (saving an estimated $.25/gallon) and save $4 a month.
• Total Savings: $150 a month (Source: America Saves)

Tip: Brainstorm all the different ways you can cut expenses. Write down every idea, even if it’s far-fetched, or it’s something that you really don’t want to cut back on. You can make final decisions later. This is your chance to get creative with cost-saving measures. Don’t forget to consider fixed expenses as well, such as changing your cell phone plan, lowering your utility usage, cutting back on your cable subscription or canceling monthly subscriptions that you rarely use.

4. Make a list and check it twice
Before making final decisions about which expenditures to cut back on, make a wish list of all the financial goals you can think of. Is your goal to pay off credit card debt faster? Build an emergency savings fund? Save money for a down payment on a new house? Pay off an existing mortgage? Put more money in your retirement account? Save for a dream vacation? Or all of the above?
Tip: Once you have your list, assign a number between 1 and 5 for each item, according to how important that item is to you. The financial goals with the highest scores are the ones that you will want to focus on first. Then, in the final list, include both a carrot and a stick: Write down something that you are really motivated to do, such as saving for the down payment on a house and something that you have to do, such as paying off high credit card bills.

5. Prioritize savings options
Now, take a look at all the savings options you wrote down for step three. For each option, decide whether it’s worth giving up that expense for the financial goals you set. Keeping the long-term financial rewards in mind will make it easier to decide which of the present pleasures you are willing to forgo.
Tip: Put a check mark by each of the savings you decide to aim for in the months ahead, and voila: You have your final list of savings goals.

6. Identify emotional barriers
Of course, saving money isn’t as simple as making a list and checking it twice. Each time you make a purchase decision, you will have to reaffirm your commitment to your financial goals. We live in a consumption-driven society, and whether it’s advertisements, or just the drive to keep up with peers, we are constantly bombarded with stimuli to spend, spend, spend.
Tip: Train yourself to recognize emotional barriers to saving. Whenever you’re about to break your savings goal, take a look at what’s driving you to do so, and then decide if it’s still worth it. Learn to recognize the difference between a want and a need, and ask your friends and family for support.  Then offer them your support in return as they work toward the same financial goals.

Even the most cautious cardholder can get tripped up from time to time by the multitude of fees that are triggered each time you pull out your card. Here is a guide to the 5 most common credit card fees that cardholders incur — and how to avoid them.

1. Annual fees
Annual fees are yearly fees ranging from $15 to $300 or higher, which cardholders pay for the privilege of having their credit card. Not all credit cards charge an annual fee; but nearly all rewards cards, premium cards and secured credit cards do. The fee is most commonly applied to the cardholder’s account during a specific month of the year; but for secured credit cards, they may also be charged in monthly installments.

Why many cardholders get tripped up by this fee: Why would anyone apply for a credit card with an annual fee when they can easily get a card without one? There are two main reasons. In the case of rewards cards, credit cards with an annual fee typically offer higher rewards benefits or special sign-up bonuses.

Most card issuers will also waive the annual fee for the first year in order to sweeten the deal. Many cardholders, in turn, take out the card with the intention of canceling it after the first year; but then they forget.

How to avoid this fee: Before taking out a rewards card with a high(er) annual fee, do the math to make sure the extra rewards benefits really are worth it. In most cases, you’ll find that the extra earnings don’t warrant the higher annual fee. Furthermore, if you take out a card with the annual fee waived the first year, and you intend to cancel it, make a note in your calendar so that you don’t forget. Even if the annual fee is charged to your account, you can cancel it at any time and get a prorated refund.

2. Balance transfer fees
Balance transfer fees are charged each time a cardholder transfers a credit card balance to a different credit card or uses a balance transfer check. The fees range from 3 to 5 percent of the balance transferred. Balance transfer fees used to be capped at, say, $75 or $100; but such offers are harder to come by these days. This has changed the dynamics of 0 percent balance transfer offers quite a bit. For example, now, if you take out a $5,000 0 percent balance transfer on a typical card, you can expect to pay a $150 to $250 balance transfer fee.

Why many cardholders get tripped up by this fee: A 0 percent balance transfer offer sounds like a great deal, even with a “low” 3 to 5 percent balance transfer fee. However, how good a deal it is really depends on the length of the promotional 0 percent offer period. For a six-month 0 percent balance transfer offer with a 5 percent balance transfer fee, the effective annual interest rate is 10 percent. Not such a great deal after all.

How to avoid this fee: It’s hard to avoid balance transfer fees altogether, as few card issuers these days offer no-fee 0 percent balance transfers. Instead, look for offers with the longest possible promotional period (ideally, 12 to 18 months). For a 0 percent balance transfer offer with a 5 percent balance transfer fee, the effective annual rate for an 18-month promotional period is a modest 3.33 percent. An alternate option is to put all purchases on a card with a 0 percent purchase rate and use the cash saved in lieu of a balance transfer.

3. Cash advance fees
Cash advance fees are charged each time cardholders take out cash from their credit cards via bank tellers, ATMs or, in some cases, the convenience checks card issuers send out. The fee is typically 3 percent of the amount withdrawn. Cash advances are very handy for getting quick access to cash when traveling or running short on money in your regular bank account; but they can also be dangerous.

Why many cardholders get tripped up by this fee: With a 3 percent cash advance fee, the cost of, say, a $100 cash advance is very modest: just $3. However, many cardholders don’t realize that the costs don’t end there. The credit card interest on cash advances is higher than for other types of balances, typically ranging from 21.99 to 25.99 percent or higher. There is also no grace period on cash advances, so interest begins to accumulate right away.

Furthermore, when the monthly bill is paid, card issuers first apply payments to balances with the lowest APR (for example, the purchase APR). Only the amount paid above the minimum due is applied to the balances with the highest interest. So cardholders who pay only the minimum due will end up paying interest on high APR cash advance balances for a long time.

How to avoid this fee: Exhaust all other options before taking out a cash advance on a credit card. Furthermore, when taking out a cash advance, pay the entire credit card balance off as quickly as you can to wipe out the high interest balance on the card.

4. Late fees
The rules for how much card issuers can charge in late fees have changed since the Credit CARD Act was passed in 2009. In the past, card issuers typically charged a late fee of $39. Now, the late fee can not be higher than the minimum payment due. If the payment due is higher than $39, the late fee is capped at $25, unless the cardholder has made another late payment in the last six months. In this case, the fee cannot exceed $35. The fee can be higher if the card issuer is able to demonstrate that the costs incurred from the late payment were more than $25; but card issuers would have to disclose those higher penalty fees up front.

Why many cardholders get tripped up by this fee: Life happens. If you’re traveling, busy with a work deadline or something unusual happens in your life, it’s all too easy to miss a bill payment. However, when it comes to credit cards, one trip-up can seriously cost you.

Whereas most bills can wait past the due date without serious consequences, credit card bills are a different story. Even though the late fees are lower, they are still considerable. And if you are more than 30 days late paying your bill, it will seriously damage your credit score.

How to avoid this fee: The more credit cards you use, the easier it is to overlook a credit card payment. Use only 2-3 credit cards at the most, and synchronize credit card payments so that you don’t have to keep track of multiple due dates.

5. Over-limit fees
Over-limit fees have gotten a lot of attention recently, thanks to new regulations that require consumers to “opt-in” for credit card overdraft protection if they want to charge over their credit limit without having their card declined. As with late fees, card issuers can no longer automatically charge the typical $39 over-limit fee. The fee can’t be any higher than the overdraft amount.

Why many cardholders get tripped up by this fee: In the past, it was possible to incur numerous over-limit fees if a cardholder used his cards multiple times before realizing the card was over the limit. With the CARD Act’s new rules, cardholders enjoy protection against this slip-up. However, the greatest cost to cardholders is not the fee, but the damage to their credit score that is incurred by pushing credit card balances to the limit.

How to avoid this fee: This is one fee that is now easy to avoid: Don’t opt in for over-limit protection. In addition, to avoid damage to your credit score, keep credit card balances below 30 percent of the credit limit, and ideally use only 10 percent of the credit available.

While there is no law requiring you to learn about credit cards before the training wheels come off, you can save yourself lots of headaches — and money — by reading up on some of the most common credit card mistakes that people make.

In the first article in this series, we covered some common — and costly — credit card blunders that nearly all of us make at one point or another. Here are 5 more foolish credit card mistakes that you may not realize you’re making.

Silly Mistake #6: Juggling too many credit cards
If you’re one of those people who have never seen a credit card offer you don’t like, chances are that you’ve amassed a sizeable collection of credit cards. For people with excellent credit, tantalizing credit card offers abound. Not surprisingly, Americans, on average, have 3-4 credit cards, and many have more than 10.

However, applying for credit cards frequently may dent your credit score. Furthermore, it’s important to use all the credit cards that you do have. Card issuers are more likely to close or scale back credit limits on unused accounts — and that could also hurt your credit score.

At the same time, using too many credit cards at once sets you up for trouble: With payments due on numerous credit cards each month, it’s a lot easier to overlook a payment. And if you overlook a bill for more than 30 days, it will cause a lot more harm than “simply” a $25-35 late fee. It will pull down your credit score for a very long time.

How to avoid making this mistake again: Keep the number of credit cards that you use each month to three or less. If you’re concerned about credit accounts being closed or limits slashed, cycle through your credit cards so that they are used regularly (for example, every three or four months). You should also synchronize your credit card payment due dates to make it easier to keep track of when bills are due.

Silly Mistake #7: Paying unnecessary fees
Would you send an extra $25 to $39 to your card issuer if asked? Of course not. Yet, tens of thousands of cardholders pay that much in penalty fees on a regular basis. Prior to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, Americans paid more than $15 billion a year in penalty fees alone. And even though many fees have been limited following the new credit card rules, other fees have increased considerably and, in some cases, new fees have been introduced.

How to avoid making this mistake again: Know your fees. Here are some of the most common fees that you should watch out for:
• Late fees: The typical cost of a late fee is $25 for the first slip-up and $35 for the second within a given six-month period.
• Over-the-limit fees: These can run as high as $39, so watch out.
• Balance transfer fees: Balance transfer fees commonly range between 3 and 5 percent of the transaction amount, depending on the issuer.
• Cash advance fees: These are typically set at 3 percent of the advance with a minimum of $10 due.
• Foreign transaction fees: Foreign transaction fees charge up to 3 percent for each transaction.
• Annual fees: These are mostly waived the first year, but many people forget to cancel the card the second year.

Card issuers often tack on other fees as well, so carefully read through your credit card statement to stay up to date on the fees that apply to your credit card.

Silly Mistake #8. Falling into the 0 percent APR trap
It is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch; but 0 percent APR credit card offers seem to fit the bill. People with great credit can access a zero interest loan of as much as $10,000 (and in some cases more) in a matter of minutes, simply by filling out an online credit card application.

How can credit card issuers afford to give out zero interest loans to lots of consumers for long periods of time, no questions asked? Because once the promotional period comes to an end, 0 percent APR credit cards feature some of the highest interest rates in the industry. And enough people end up paying those high interest rates on their “free” 0 percent APR loan to make these offers worthwhile for card issuers.

How to avoid making this mistake again: Before applying for a 0 percent APR balance transfer, make a plan for how large a 0 percent APR loan you can afford to take out. Figure out how much you can afford to pay each month, and then multiply that by the number of months the 0 percent APR offer lasts. That’s the loan amount you can afford. Not more, not less. Hoping that you will somehow get the extra money to pay off a larger balance before the 0 percent APR expires, or planning to take out another 0 percent APR offer, just sets you up for trouble.

Silly Credit Card Mistake #9: Going on a rewards card binge
It’s easy to spend more than planned on credit cards, and with rewards credit cards, it’s even more so. Whether it’s a short-term 5 percent cash back offer or a rewards card spending limit you’re trying to meet to reach a higher rewards category, it can be tempting to make purchases you wouldn’t otherwise have made, or that you should have waited to make. But this can easily get you into trouble.

How to avoid making this mistake again: Do the math. Rewards terms are typically phrased in a way that makes them sound like an incredible deal. However, once you calculate the true dollar earnings, you’ll find that rewards earnings are rarely worth the extra expenditure.

Silly Credit Card Mistake #10: Not communicating with credit card issuers
Incurred a late fee because of a slip-up? Call your card issuer. Most card issuers will waive at least one late payment for good customers — particularly if it’s the first time you make one.

Planning to take out an unusually large balance transfer to finance a small home remodeling project? Again, call your card issuer and explain why. Then specify exactly when you plan to pay the balance off. Card issuers review credit accounts regularly, and if you suddenly have an unusually large balance, it could be a red flag. Having a note on your record explaining what you’re doing will help prevent slashed credit limits or other preemptive actions.

How to avoid making this mistake again: Know what to communicate and what to leave out. Most card issuers will work with cardholders to keep their business — as long as the cardholder has a history of making regular payments and has otherwise been a good customer.

However, be wary of communicating financial information that suggests financial hardship because it could quickly backfire. It may be possible to negotiate a reduced interest rate on outstanding credit card debt or a skipped payment; but only resort to this if you have no other choice. It generally is not a good idea to share information that indicates that you are in financial trouble.

A new study from CESI Debt Solution found that 40 percent of seniors who have accumulated debt during their retirement years don’t think they’ll be able pay it back in their lifetime. The same survey also found that over half of retirees had outstanding debt when they stopped working.

The numbers were bad even before the recession started, say researchers. The average outstanding credit card balance for seniors increased 26 percent between 2005 and 2008, rising from $8,138 to $10,325 in just three years. Additionally, the percentage of seniors filing for bankruptcy jumped 178 percent between 1991 and 2007.

At the root of seniors’ financial woes is often a perfect storm of unexpected events. Seniors tend to have more medical expenses, and they are on a fixed income that typically is smaller than what they were earning while working — making them particularly vulnerable to problems. Considering the rising cost of prescription medications and the depletion of retirement funds that many faced after the stock market crash, it’s no surprise that many older Americans increasingly are forced to turn to credit cards to make ends meet.

Unfortunately, while credit cards afford an easy short-term solution, accumulating excessive credit card debt will create even greater problems in the long run. If you are looking to retire, or have parents that are retired, here are some steps to stay clear of credit card issues in the future:

1. Retire credit card debt before you retire. When looking towards retirement, expect the unexpected. New expenses are likely to pop up in retirement, so if you are shouldering excessive credit card debt, you are better off waiting a year or two before you retire. That way, you can establish a more solid financial footing first.

2. Don’t use plastic to fill in the gaps. Adjusting to a more limited retirement budget can be a challenge. It’s never easy to scale back one’s lifestyle, particularly when you’re past your late sixties. It’s also tempting to turn to plastic to fill in the gaps. However, if that monthly credit card balance keeps going up each month, then you are living beyond your means. The earlier you recognize the issue and take steps to deal with it, the easier it is to tackle. Conversely, waiting too long can lead to serious financial hardship.

3. Live below your means. A common mistake many seniors make is to calibrate retirement spending according to anticipated future income from, say, the sale of a house or from investment earnings. Unfortunately, that house could sell for less than expected and even the safest of investments can turn south, leaving you with a lot less in retirement savings than you anticipated. To keep a safety zone, scale living standards to less than what you think you can really afford.

4. Don’t fall for credit card offers. Rewards credit cards and 0 percent APR credit card offers can seem like a great way to save a little money. But, unfortunately, the more credit cards you have, the harder it is to keep track of them and the easier it is for credit card spending to get out of hand. If you’re already retired or are planning to do so soon, you need to be extra careful about what kind of credit risks you take.

5. Keep your credit file active. Credit cards are a necessary part of modern life. While it’s tempting to simplify by simply cutting up all credit cards, that won’t seem like such a smart idea next time you’re shopping online or looking to make a car or flight reservation. Instead, keep 2-3 credit cards active, but charge only what can easily be paid off each month.