The article from Smart Money is called 10 Things Your Bank Won’t Tell You but each of those 10 items will cost you money.

Here are seven easy steps to pay off high interest rate credit cards.  In fact these tips show you how to eliminate high interest accounts entirely and how to perform simple regular maintenance adjustments to keep your credit accounts within reasonable limits.

1.  Fingerprint your credit cards.  On a simple word document or piece of paper list each card by name, redacted account number [last 4 digits], credit limit, balance and interest rate.  On the next line list the telephone number of the customer service department so you can obtain account balance information and discuss account terms.  On the third line list the minimum balance due and the due date.  This information becomes your handy dandy credit card fingerprint.  It gives you a mugshot of your available credit, your total debt, the interest rate charged to each account and your next payment due information.

Whenever you need to check your account information, call the toll-free number listed by each account.  Credit card companies still provide customer service for free, so take advantage of one of the only free services offered by these banks to save you money.

2. Make a minimum payment on each card and on time so you do not incur late fees.  After you make that payment delete or zero out the minimum balance so you know you have paid that card for the month.   If you use your card for ordinary everyday purchases, keep your receipt and make a payment for the new amount charged as soon as you can.  This way you reduce the chance that your next statement will be higher than the last one.

3. Pay extra money to high balance cards first so your monthly finance charges will be averaged more toward the lower interest rate cards.  This will reduce the amount of the finance charge added to your accounts each month.

4.  Call the handy customer service number and request a lower interest rate on each card.   Keep the discussion friendly but point out you can get a lower rate at your local credit union.   A lower rate reduces the finance charge added to your balance each month.

5.  Call your friendly customer service representative again and request a larger available credit balance.  This helps increase your debt-to-credit ratio, and in turn, boosts your credit score.  This also helps you avoid incurring penalty fees for going over the available credit limit on maxed out cards.

6.  Close high interest rate cards and look for new lower interest cards.  Affinity cards and reward cards generally charge a higher interest rate than a plain generic card.  Look to your local bank or credit union and compare rates.  As soon as possible stop using or close those accounts that have refused to lower your rate.

7.  Each month, update your credit card fingerprint with new information as soon as you receive your new statement.

Repeat the above steps until you have zero balance low interest rate accounts that you are able to pay off in full each month.

Here is a list of the top 10 types of documents you should keep for tax purposes.

Proof of income can  be established by a W-2 form or a 1099.

Bank account statements and credit card statements show a history of account transactions.

Invoices and payment receipts and canceled checks show how much is owed and who was paid.

Housing closing statements and insurance documents and prior tax returns round out the list.

This list is based on recommendations from the Internal Revenue Service that was published on Bankrate.com.

Save hundreds of dollars and avoid these traps when transferring your high credit card balances to lower interest accounts.

Walecia Konrad published these tips to Bankrate.com.

1.  Keep track of time as special offers usually expire in 6 or 9 months.

2.  Determine what interest rate applies to balance transfers and what rate applies to purchases, often these rates differ.

3.  Watch out for fees assessed on the amount transfered.

4.  Make sure your account applies the special rate.  You may be offered one rate but your credit score may cause you to receive a higher rate than advertised.  Read your paperwork before you use the account.

5.  Pay on time.  One late payment can terminate the special rate.

In an article placed online with Bankrate.com,  Steve Bucci of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Southern New England lists his Top Ten Causes of Debt.   Conspicuously absent is fraud, abuse, intent and extravagance.

Bucci’s list does not include scammers, tricksters, credit card abusers.  No, Bucci finds debt accrues from ordinary life experiences, hardly reasons justifying so called bankruptcy reform designed to make it harder to file bankruptcy.

Bucci says hundreds of readers at Bankrate.com requested his advice on how to avoid debt problems so Bucci drew on data compiled from his Bankrate.com readers and former clients at the Counseling Service.  From that data, Bucci found his unofficial top ten reasons people incur debt.

At the top of the list is reduced income while expenses remain the same.   This category relates to a job loss or reduction in hours worked.

Next on Bucci’s list is divorce.  Divorce is the mirror image of reduced income/same expenses.  With divorce, income stays the same but expenses increase as two now live under two roofs instead of one.

Bucci adds poor money management, underemployment, gambling addiction [Bucci says a casino is the only place you can legally mortgage your house while intoxicated], medical bills, saving too little, lack of communication skills, counting on money before it arrives and financial illiteracy.

New bankruptcy time deadlines take effect December 1, 2009.  Time will now be computed in multiples of 7.  This change will minimize situations where deadlines come due on weekends.

Bankruptcy has many different deadlines based on multiples of 5 – 5 days to submit documents, 10 days to appeal, 15 days to file pleadings, 20 or 25 days to object.  Periods shorter than 30 days are going to the new 7 day system.  5 day deadlines become 7 days.  10 and 15 day deadlines go to 14 days.  20 day deadlines become 21 and 25 days periods go to 28 days.

Weekends and holidays are counted as any other calendar day.  When a court issued an order to requiring certain action within 10 days, that order would fall due on a weekend if it was issued on a Wednesday or a Thursday.  10 days later would be Saturday or Sunday, respectively. 

With the new law change, 7, 14, 21 or 28 day deadlines will always be due by the same day of the week as the day the original order is issued.  As court is closed on weekends, the 7 day system will reduce much of the confusion that surrounds weekend deadlines.

The new law is called the Statutory Time Period Technical Amendments Act of 2009 and it changes the time period of nine sections of the Bankruptcy Code.

The best way to stay out of debt is to refuse unsolicited credit offers.  Be they blank checks or credit card applications, just say no.  Tear up the envelope before you open it.

I received a letter from American Express.  Printed on the outside is ” You’ve been selected”.  To me, that means I have been targeted and I should run as far away from the offer as possible.  Also printed there is “Everything that comes with the Preferred Rewards Gold Card Can be Yours”.  No thanks, I do not want your rewards.  I pay for what I want to buy and I am happy with the value of the service or merchandise I receive.  I do not fall victim to the lure of rewards or the false sense of importance these card reward programs offer.

There is no reward and nothing elegant about being sued by American Express.

Negotiate a lower payment on your credit card.  Call customer service and ask for a better rate.   “Just work with me.”  These proven common sense tips could save you money on your credit card accounts and help you avoid bankruptcy.

More than one out of 10 accounts went 6 months in default last month and that rate is expected to climb according to my sources at industry analyst Moodys.com.  Banks are interested in their bottom line and this default rate is not bank healthy.  In the past, banks raised rates on delinquent accounts and charged more fees and penalties.   As more consumers experience unemployment and foreclosure, banks expect to lose millions as these debtors find comfort in bankruptcy.  Some banks are secretly modifying accounts, lowering interest rates and balances in an effort to collect some money now rather than none later.  Here is a way for everyone with a credit card to save money regardless of whether you need or can file bankruptcy.

My friend Bobby Shinedown Wilbert is a consumer protection lawyer in Jacksonville FL.  He has a wealth of information about the debt collection industry.  This morning he tipped me to a Washington Post story by Nancy Trejos about another dirty secret banks do not want everyone to know.  Ms. Trejos writes, in her article, Banks Ease Burden of Credit Card Debt,  that banks do not want to everyone to call asking for a better deal, but those that do may find the bank willing to work out zero interest repayment plans or lower balances.  Ms. Trejos writes that sometimes the bank will reject your first offer, then call back with a better deal.  In my Debt Law Network article, Do It Yourself Debt Settlement, I profiled a case of a young man who eliminated over $10,000 in debt through direct negotiation with credit card banks.   That case involved lump sum payments.  Now it appears some banks are willing to take payment over time.

Tell your friends, tell your relatives.  Make the call.  Flood the phone lines at Bank of America, Citi, Chase and American Express.  Use the toll free number on your statement and call today.  Tell them you cannot pay your bill and you need a break.  Tell them you read that they can modify the loan balance and eliminate the interest rate.  Say the magic “B” word, Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Bankruptcy, over and over.  Tell them Andy sent you.

Here is a tip I picked up from Jacksonville FL bankruptcy lawyer Bobby Shinedown Wilbert that could save you thousands of dollars on your credit card debt.  Call your credit card bank and ask for a lower interest rate and a lower principal balance.  You might get a zero interest rate if you are willing to close the account.

In the past banks usually raised rates if you could not pay under the universal default clause of your contract.  Today, banks face staggering default rates and are trying to recover some money before charging off delinquent accounts.  You can read more about this in my article Lower Credit Card Interest and Balance to Avoid Default appearing at the Bankruptcy Law Network.  Give it a try.

Pay attention to these 5 tips to safely fly on an airline that is in bankruptcy. During the past 8 years these airlines filed bankruptcy: Aloha Airlines, America West, ATA Airlines, Braniff International, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Airlines, Frontier, Hawaiian Airlines, Northwest Airlines, TWA, United Airlines, and US Air. You can expect more to follow in a sagging economy.
1. While major carriers might use bankruptcy to eliminate debt, smaller companies might not survive bankruptcy. Other carriers are not required to honor your ticket to a bankruptcy airline.
2. No matter what the airline says, the airline needs court approval to continue operations.
3. A bankruptcy airline trying to raise cash might offer a cheap ticket. If you have a choice of carriers, pick the one not in bankruptcy.
4. As airlines cut costs they often reduce pay. Watch out for poor service and be prepared for some attitude.
5. The other side of the cost-cutting coin is the attempt to increase revenue by charging extra baggage fees and overweight fees.
These tips are from a September 8th MSNBC article written by Christopher Elliott, titled Air Chapter 11: flying the bankrupt skies.