Money mistake 3: Investing before clearing your credit card bill

If you have credit card debts, stop right now!

Forget all that I said earlier.

If you are revolving credit on your credit card (paying back just the minimum amount every month and carrying forward the rest to the next month), your sole motive should be to clear your debt. (Also check out: Are you revolving on your credit card?)

Forget about investing your money.

The annual interest rate on your card at 2.95 percent per month will be 35.4 percent per annum.

If you drag your feet on paying this bill, the interest gets compounded and it amounts to much more. That will suck precious money out of your wallet.

You don't necessarily have to be a mathematical genius to calculate that you should get a return of that much (35.4 percent after taxes) to break even.

Which, incidentally, is virtually impossible, unless you are a stock market wizard.