Avoid these 7 money mistakes

The Simple Dollar has wriiten a blog entry on this article. The Simple Dollar explained much better than this Smartmoney article.

Source: By Nicole Bullock and Janet Paskin of Smartmoney magazine

#1 Saving with the right hand and spending with the left

SYMPTOMS:
- Keeping a savings account that pays 5% interest while carrying credit card balances at 15%;
- thinking a tax refund equals mad money;
- obsessing over the price of a new car, but failing to monitor the weekly grocery bill.

#2 Playing it too safe

SYMPTOMS:
- Quick to sell winning stocks but slow to sell losing ones;
- putting too much cash in money-market funds and not enough in stocks;
- reluctance to trade away what you already have, even for something more valuable.

#3 Looking into a cloudy crystal ball

SYMPTOMS:
- Putting too much of your savings in your company's stock;
- having very low insurance deductibles;
- thinking small-cap stocks will rise forever.

#4 Living in the moment

SYMPTOMS:
- Failing to enroll in a 401(k) plan;
- not coming up with a monthly budget;
- waiting until the last minute to make your IRA contribution.

#5 Throwing good money after bad

SYMPTOMS:
- Hanging on to a lagging mutual fund because you paid an upfront sales charge;
- making repairs that cost more than your car is worth;
- making decisions about how to spend time or money based on how much time and money you've already spent.

#6 Letting your ego get in the way

SYMPTOMS:
- Frequent trading;
- concentrating picks among a handful of "surefire winners";
- thinking you're an above-average driver.

#7 Following the crowd

SYMPTOMS:
- Buying ethanol stocks because everyone says they're the next big thing;
- dumping your stock fund after a steep market decline;
- taking stock tips from family and friends.