Exorcise Your Money Demons

Just a little over a week until Halloween, but if you think that ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties are scary, try an angry horde of costumed kids after you run out of Reese's Peanut Butter cups!

Kidding.

What's scarier than haunted houses is perhaps a balloon mortgage payment...Night of the Living Dead? Try working two jobs to barely eke out a living. And that monster lurking around the corner is nothing compared to the fright of dealing with a huge unanticipated expense on a very small and tight budget.

In honor of the upcoming holiday, I thought I'd take a bit of time to explore some of our money demons--Halloween-style:

Vampires

Feel like your bank account is being sucked dry by revolving interest rates, taxes, hidden fees, surcharges and such? You're not alone. A mounting credit card balance can have even the most stalwart quivering in fear. Using credit cards wisely is one way to stave off the swirling vortex of runaway debt as is meticulously managing and tracking your expenditures. Didn't realize that twice-a-day Starbucks habit was bleeding your bank account? Maybe it's time to put a silver bullet in it...

Ghosts

One of the ramifications of debt or poor spending habits is a bad credit score that will haunt you forever. Make sure to keep on top of your credit score by running your free annual credit report and reviewing it for errors. A bad credit score can affect your ability to buy or rent a home, get a credit card or loan, or even get a job. Don't let the ghosts of spending past bedevil your present and future. Spend wisely and be diligent!

Werewolves

Another repercussion of wild spending? Creditors. Ravenous, relentless and ruthless, collection agents hunting down money can feel like a pack of hungry wolves--and you're dinner. According to a recent post at WalletPop, you can suffer from being pursued by collection agents even if you're not responsible for the debt. Collection agents have been known to hound relatives, people with the same name as the debtor or even total strangers who inherited the phone number of the person they are after. In one case, collection calls may have contributed to the death of a Florida man. Check out the FTC website to learn what your rights are and how to protect yourself from the abusive practices of collection agencies.

Zombies

Too often we are on autopilot when it comes to managing our finances. Infected by a viral need to "buy stuff," with no will--or willpower--of our own, we are like mindless zombies when it comes to money. So before your financial apocalypse comes to pass, take control. Use tools like those found at moneyStrands to track and manage your money. It's better than shuffling about aimlessly and eating brains.

Witches

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered? Whether you've been enchanted by a seemingly miraculous product on an infommercial or charmed into a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme, it's not that difficult to fall victim to financial follies. Certainly there is a psychological component to buying and spending money--and legitimate advertisers as well as scammers know all too well the ways to cast a spell and get you to part ways with your dollars. Your best talisman to defeat these conjurers? Your own natural skepticism. Employing an "if it seems too good to be true" attitude is like a lucky horseshoe keeping the spell-casters at bay.

Dentist

One of my bi-annual dental appointments used to fall right before Halloween and my dentist at the time would always ask me, "Going to any Halloween parties this year?" to which I was forced to admit I wasn't. I'd ask him if he was and he would reply yes. "I'm going as a dentist!," he would say blithely with gloved hands scraping at my teeth. "Oooh, scary!" was always my stock response.

While my dentist had a fine sense of humor, he still realized the inherent terror that many people have with regards to going to the dentist. It's painful, it's scary, and there are a lot of people who avoid dealing with their finances with the same abhorrence as reserved for dental exams. But avoiding money issues can create a rotting, festering problem--worse even than a root canal. Besides, saving doesn't have to be painful! Brush up on tracking your spending, and break out the floss to shave costs by hunting for the best deals and using online coupons. With daily care and regular checkups you can let your blossoming bank account bring a smile to your face.

Which money demon are you possessed by? Tell us your ghost story in the comments!