When Cindy Hockenberry and her husband sent in a tax-penalty payment in 2007, they knew there was a chance their math might not jibe with the IRS’s. When that turned out to be true and the amount was much higher than expected, they decided to dispute it. Fortunately for them, Hockenberry’s a pro. As tax research coordinator at the National Association of Tax Professionals, she spotted a glitch in the IRS’s calculation.

While we don’t have any credit card debt now, except for 0 APR balance transfers, there was a time when we did. While we never let our credit cards get completely out of control, we did build up several thousand dollars on our credit cards when I first got out of college. So having gotten into card debt and then climbed out of it, we’ve learned many of the causes of this financial pain. The fact is, we can talk ourselves into using our credit cards in ways that will hurt our finances down the road. So here are 10 lies we tell ourselves that get us in credit card debt and keep us there.

With economic conditions worsening and credit tightening, you don't need to be wasting money on high-interest credit card rates. Our friends at Credit-Land.com rounded up a handful of credit card offers which provide some low interest credit cards worth checking out. Choose between some of the leading credit card companies: American Express, Capital One, and Discover.

If you haven't had the credit limit cut on your credit card recently, count yourself lucky. Risk-averse card issuers are getting slash happy. And while many cardholders gripe that such cuts slice razor-close to their balance amounts, for an unfortunate few the cuts go far deeper: below what they currently owe.

Welcome to a comprehensive ranking of the best personal finance blogs. The default view shows the top personal finance blogs ranked by traffic. You can also rank these blogs by most incoming blog links, most subscribers, most link authority, best Compete Scores, most Twitter followers, and number of inbound links by clicking on the table headers. This chart is updated daily. Check back frequently to see how your favorite blogs are doing. Also check out our supplemental list of financial blogs by big media. We're currently tracking a total of 212 financial blogs.

How would you like to learn more about personal finance issues and economics at the college level from the comfort of your home? And wouldn’t it be nice if you could do it for free? Thanks to the power of the internet and the growing popularity of courses being offered online for free, this has become a reality. Here you’ll find a wide array of finance courses you can take for free right on your own computer.

Lately I’ve found myself using more and more financial rules of thumb. A rule of thumb is a general guideline, an easy way to approximate a value quickly. It’s not meant to be completely accurate. On a whim this weekend, I gathered together many of the general rules I’ve been using, as well as several others I found online. Thanks to those who follow me on Twitter, who also contributed suggestions.

When I was near my financial low point, I was literally paying hundreds a month in finance charges on my credit cards. That money was an enormous burden at the time, since I didn’t have any savings built up and I was also dealing with the “startup” expenses of having a new baby in the home.

Remember when the tightfistedness of relatives raised during the Depression was amusing? Our grandparents' certificates of deposit and plastic couch protectors seemed downright quaint when our own home-equity and retirement portfolios were ballooning. Suddenly, though, the pot-roast-and-potatoes ethic doesn't seem quite so kooky. We'd even say it's worthy of a salute.

The current economic climate has been draining for everyone, both economically and mentally. You have probably been trying to stick to a budget and avoiding looking at that 401k statement for some time now. But this is a very difficult task - saving receipts, tracking expenses, controlling spending urges, and meeting goals for savings can be overwhelming. However, unlike past recessions, you have the advantage of digital information to make this process a lot simpler.