Has your credit-card bank ever made you angry? I mean really infuriated to the point where you just want a little revenge for how you were treated? The only problem is that you may feel at their mercy…like they’re somehow superior. Well, you know what? They’re not! No single bank has a monopoly on that “green paper” called money. It’s time to show them that if they don’t treat you like the good customer you are, you’re going to take your business elsewhere—in a big way.

Video Presentation: You should always be thinking about refinancing because your mortgage is probably the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make. Notice that I didn’t say your house was the most expensive purchase. That’s because when you took a mortgage, you purchased that money to pay for the house. The purchase of that money is paid by the interest charges.

This document is the transcription of the video presentation: You should always be thinking about refinancing because your mortgage is probably the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make. Notice that I didn’t say your house was the most expensive purchase. That’s because when you took a mortgage, you purchased that money to pay for the house. The purchase of that money is paid by the interest charges.

Buy a car with a credit card! Sound crazy? Well, just hear me out on this one. Before we get started there are a few words of caution that need mentioning. Specifically, if you can afford to buy a car with cash, that’s your best option. Any time you use your credit cards you run the risk of getting further into debt. But I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t let you know about yet another way you can save money!

Let’s take a close look at an offer I just received from my Barclay Card. This offer came with a cover letter with the details of offers as well as more specifics on the reverse side plus four checks (blue and white) that I can write out to whoever I want. It is largely do to offers like this one that I’ve not only been able to borrow money at 0% for more than 15 years, but also have been able to earn money from my credit cards.

Results are in and it’s clear that the President Obama was the top choice for DebtSmart readers in every question. Based on reader comments, much of this support, from people that are looking to trim their debt and manage their finances, seems to be because they feel that Republicans are out of touch with average Americans and that President Bush and the Republicans are the source of today’s economic problems.

How many times have you walked out into the parking lot of a supermarket and spotted a penny on the ground? Plenty of times no doubt. You might bend over to pick one up if you see Lincoln staring at you, but for the most part you just keep walking by.

Many people may say that shedding debt is common sense: Pay for everything in cash and don’t incur any debt. Yeah, sure, easily said when you have a household income of 70 to 80 thousand (and no kids). Obviously the best way to handle your finances is to pay for everything with cash. Not everyone has that luxury.

American Children, Teenagers and Young Adults: Of the 4,000 students who took the Jump$tart personal finance survey in 2004, 65.5% received failing scores. A study of 1,065 teens found that 21% of 18 and 19-year-olds have credit cards. People in the 18 to 24 age bracket spend nearly 30% of their monthly income just on debt repayment – double the percentage spent in 1992 (10% of net income is a recommended amount for debt obligation).

Believe it or not, I know people that have revolving credit-card debt in amounts of $6,000 or more with rates over 20% and they’re not interested in getting a better rate. That’s just crazy! The first defense against being gouged for high rates and fees is finding new creditors.