If there's one report in the financial world you definitely don't want your name on, it's ChexSystems. Utilized by U.S. Banks and credit unions as a way to determine if potential customers are too great of a risk to simply hold a checking account, ChexSystems is essentially a database that tracks when banks close customers' accounts for "cause". Such reasons might include closure due to multiple overdrafts, non payment of fees, or providing false information when opening the account.

If you didn't qualify before, your chances just got much better. The first-time homebuyers tax credit, which was scheduled to lapse on December 1, will now live on until at least June 30, 2010. And the good news is that President Obama not only signed an extension of the law, but also expanded the rules to include more eligible homebuyers.

Many consumers, in an effort to avoid ATM fees, take cash withdrawals during point-of-sale transactions at grocery stores or other retail establishments. While this may be a savvy way to avoid withdrawal fees, you should know that point-of-sale terminals generally won't warn you if you're about to overdraft and trigger an even larger fee on your account. Unlike an ATM fee of just a few dollars, overdraft charges can often be as high as $39.

The Holiday season means more shopping than usual for most of us. Whether you like it or not, you'll probably spend more time than any other season of the year searching for the perfect gifts in crowded shopping malls and on your favorite e-commerce sites.