Many of us complain of being strapped for cash, forcing us to put off vacations and even milestone events like graduation, marriage and having kids. But we don't realize that our poor spending habits are likely to blame. Whether you're living on credit or spending significant sums on stuff you may not even use, such practices add up over time, resulting in in a mountain of debt, depleted savings, and other unfavorable consequences that can wreak havoc on your life. Look in your closet or drawers. Do you have various items that still have price tags on them? That probably means that you bought them to jump on a sale, not because you really wanted them in the first place. I caution people against buying things simply because they'll get something free or a second item half off, for example. It induces us to buy things we otherwise wouldn't buy if they weren't on sale. So, what happens? These things are left collecting dust at home while your bank account...

Ever had to deal with the drudgery of calling a company's customer service department for assistance? Yep, we've all been there. Just this morning, I received a message from Discover -- at work, no less -- saying they were calling in reference to a "request" I'd recently made. ' A victim of identity theft several times over the last few years, I immediately assumed someone had tried to open an account under my name. Then I remembered I was protected under a credit monitoring service through my wife's employer -- plus, they hadn't notified me of any suspicious activity. I called the number and was told that, in order for them to track down the file in question, I would either have to provide a reference number (which wasn't given to me) or my full social security number. The latter was, of course, out of the question, so I opted to do one thing at that point: Call again later in the day and hope the person who attended me then was more com...