EVERYONE I know is trying to get into shape these days, right from my neighbour to my great aunt.

The fun part is everyone is an authority on don'ts.
~ Don't eat sugar.
~ Don't even think about carbs (carbohydrates).
~ Don't snack in between.

So on and so forth. People like me get confused and you can't blame me for it!

Thankfully, getting into good financial shape is fairly straightforward. Unlike physical fitness, financial fitness does not have an exhaustive list of rules.

Eight simple don'ts can totally change your financial health.

1. Don't even think credit
Credit cards are to financial health what cream is to physical health. Ideally, stay away from them totally.

But if you must use them:
~ Keep them for emergencies only. Switch to your debit card for regular use.
~ Never keep more than one credit card.
~ Most important, never revolve. Pay your bill in full and on time. No minimum payments, no delays.

Reader Yogendra Malik violated all these rules. He used two credit cards from two different banks. Lack of attention to payments took his bill to Rs 30,000.

He used his bonus to pay off the outstanding and lost out on investment opportunities which could have led to increased tax cuts.

Illustration: Vaibhav Shirke

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e-mail: Deepa Venkatraghvan

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