Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas: Sixteen New Year's Resolutions You Don't Want to Keep.

DALLAS -- While gearing up for the New Year, a lot of us make resolutions to improve our finances. However, most of those resolutions are forgotten, or are simply unmet because of holiday expenses. So instead of stressing about the financial resolutions you should make, Gail Cunningham, vice president of business relations for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas, suggests concentrating on the actions you should absolutely avoid, and the reasons to avoid them.

"Financial traps are more prevalent than New Year's Resolutions, and outlive most of them," Cunningham said. "These traps are a formula for financial disaster that I hope consumers will avoid. Instead, they should contact a financial advisor or credit counselor to plan for a financially successful 2006."

Sixteen financial resolutions that should NOT be met in 2006:

    1. Apply for every credit card offer you receive in the mail.
        (Makes your credit score lower.)

    2. Charge everything, even those items that you could easily pay
        for with cash. (Runs up a large debt load.)

    3. Don't open the monthly statements from your creditors in a
        timely manner. Instead, wait until it's convenient for you.
        (Equals late charges.)

    4. Don't pay any attention to your credit card limit, just keep
        charging. (Results in over limit fees.)

    5. Open store charge accounts simply because they'll give you 10
        percent off of today's purchases. (These accounts usually
        carry a higher interest rate than a general-purpose card, and
        one more charge card is one more temptation to spend.)

    6. Take advantage of all "buy now and pay later" offers and then
        ignore the due dates. (The zero percent interest will probably
        skyrocket to double digits if you don't comply exactly with
        the fine print. Further, the interest will likely be applied
        all the way back to the date of purchase.)

    7. Take out cash advances through your credit cards. (These are at
        a much higher interest rate than normal charges.)

    8. Use the convenience checks that come in the mail. (They're a
        come-on to add to your debt load.)

    9. Transfer balances to a new credit card with a low interest rate
        and then charge, charge, charge. After all, it's a low rate,
        so what will it hurt? (The rate will likely go up in a few
        months. Then you'll owe the balance you originally
        transferred, plus all the new charges. You're worse off than
        when you started.)

    10. File for bankruptcy. After all, your neighbor did this and
        lives like a king. (He's not telling you the whole story. What
        interest rate is he paying? Yes, you'll be extended credit
        after bankruptcy, but you'll pay for it.)

    11. Buy a new car and finance it for the maximum number of months.
        (Your debt may outlive your car.)

    12. Never save a dime. Hey, tomorrow will be better. (Tomorrow
        probably holds as many bumps in the road as today.)

    13. If you get in a bind, rely on money from payday loan
        companies. (Interest can range into the triple digits.)

    14. Take out an interest only loan to buy the house of your
        dreams. Surely real estate in your area will appreciate and
        you can make a killing before any real payments are due.
        (Slippery slope here. A downturn in the market can put these
        folks in a precarious position when it's time to pay the
        piper. When principal payments kick in, the overall payment
        goes up, with a shorter term. Ouch. If they can't sell their
        house for more than they paid for it, they're upside down with
        no equity.)

    15. Carry your Social Security card in your wallet. (This is the
        gateway to your identity and will be a real bonanza to the
        thief who steals your purse.)

    16. Count on someone else to make your financial future secure.
        (There is little job loyalty, divorce is rampant, Social
        Security is uncertain and baby boomers are the first
        generation to retire without a pension.)

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