Consumers are often surprised when they pull their credit reports and find that one of their old debts is listed twice under different creditors' names. How can this happen?

It can be tempting to dip into retirement money when no cash is left in the bank and there are bills to be paid, but you must resist the temptation! Retirement funds are for one and only one thing—retirement. They need to be left alone so you can take care of yourself when you're old and gray.

Personal finance gurus love to argue about which debt you should pay off first. Browse the Internet for just a few minutes, and you'll find volumes of painfully long articles rehashing the same old approaches to paying down debt.

If you haven't found the time to read them all yet, there's no need to worry. Here's a summary of what they basically all say in one sentence.

Either pay off the smallest debt one account at at time, or get rid of the highest-interest debt first. Neither of these methods are new. Rather, they've just been given fancy new names.

Ever had a conversation with a shady customer service agent who demanded your FULL social security number and other personal information, which you reluctantly handed over? It can be a rather unsettling feeling when you realize that you probably just gave out way too much information to someone that might not actually be who they said they were. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help set your mind at ease.