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4. Credit cards. You know the story. If you always pay in full, you can never get into one of those 24.99% holes that can take years to dig out of. (Yeah, I know, most people here will disagree with me on that suggestion.)

Also, you need at least two, in case one of them decides to randomly lock you out when you're on vacation.

I say stick with one card, if you can. I've never had an issue with vacations in the US (read, in the country were the card is issued) raise a red-flag, possibly because I also buy my airline tickets with the credit card, so they know I'm travelling somewhere already. When I go abroad (out of North America), I call up my credit card company, and tell them what countries I'm visiting, and give them the dates of travel. Again, though I've not done much travelling outside N.A., I've not had a problem.

Oh, and yeah, if you can avoid the 24.99% credit cards, good on you, but if you religiously pay the full amount due every month, 24.99% of a $0 balance is the same as 5% of the same balance.

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Should you have a lot more than two? Well, I guess that depends on how much of an impulsive spender you are.

Emphatically, NO. Especially if you are an impulsive spender.

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6. Taxes. When you're young and don't have a house, it's usually a simple 15-minute one-page deal. Minimal stress.

Yep. I saved myself $50 this year by doing my own taxes. It took me about two hours, because I wasn't familiar with the US tax forms (I used to do my own taxes in Canada), and I read all the forms to make sure I wasn't missing some allowable deductions or credits.

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7. Stock Options. [...]
They could have avoided this by selling by the end of the year or buying protective puts or collars.

I believe the word you're looking for is puts or calls.

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9. Add up how much you spend on fast food in a month. Wow! that much?

Not just fast food, either. Add up how much you spend eating out for lunch. $5/lunch (as if it were that cheap) times 5 days a week times 4 weeks per month times 12 months per year equals $1200. I had a pair of roommates that had no clue about personal finances. They were living with me (in my living room), and trying to save for first/last on an apartment. I couldn't figure out why it was taking so long for them. During one conversation, I tallied up how much they were spending on eating out, compared to brown-bagging. You should have seen her eyes bug out and jaw drop. It never occurred to her (or her boyfriend) just how big a drain on their pocket books this was. Not only did they eat out for lunch, but most dinners, too!

Needless to say, working for a company that provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner (if I'm working overtime) is a huge perk.

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10. Set aside a small amount of time every week to do this stuff, that way it never builds up and becomes overwhelming. I.e., pay all bills every Tuesday night, or spend 15 minutes researching investments every Sunday afternoon, etc.

Even that's more than necessary much of the time. I put all my bills due on the fridge, in order of due date. Every time I go to the fridge, I see them. As it turns out, they end up being due in two groups -- mid-month, and end-of-month. But otherwise, yes... good advice.