Emergency Savings: Do you have a cash reserve?

Speaking of credit cards, I think it's better to spend your last $5 in cash instead of putting $5 on a credit card and racking up interest charges.

And credit cards can be good, if you control your spending and pay them off in full each month.

I make about $200 in a year off my credit card, because I have one that pays cash back. Frequent flier miles are useless if you don't travel, and "rewards points" are crap. I get 1-5 percent back off each purchase, which adds up to about $200 each year of free money. It's not my money being siphoned into a separate account, it's money they pay me to use the card and because I don't build up interest it's all mine.

 

Call DTV and tell them you may have to suspend your service for a year or so because of the economy. You will get a discount because DTV wants something each month.