And then there is that low "teaser rate". Yes that's what it is called in industry and it is appropriately descriptive. That rate is given out, they aren't lying about that. But it is only given to people who have 700 or above credit scores, minimal debt, and a high paying job.

The majority of people who are sent ad will not get lowest rate. But you won't know your rate until you apply for card. But by time they tell you what rate you will be at they have already signed you up and issued your card.

They count on fact that most people will just accept rate and go from there. Gotcha!

So how can you avoid these traps?

Rule #1, read ALL of fine print. If you are not clear on something ask someone else what they think it means. Ask an attorney friend, CPA (certified public accountant), financial planner, banker or other person in financial industry. Chances are they will have several questions about fine print, too.

Rule #2, don't apply for a card unless or until they tell you what your actual rate will be. This is hard because most of them are not set up to tell you. Generally you will need to know your credit scores and have a copy of your credit report handy.

Even then you are unlikely to find someone through their telephone maze that will or can actually answer your question. Try to find a card that gives you a confirmed rate before you apply. A conscientious company will first request a copy of your credit report from one of credit bureaus before quoting you a rate.

Look on http://www.bankrate.com for current rates offered by various credit card companies and banks. Often smaller banks and companies offer better deals and are not as strict or hard to deal with. Check with your local banks also. At least with a locally issued credit card "you know where they live".

Rule #3, always mail your payment at least 7 days before it is due. Or try paying through Internet. Many companies now offer that payment method. It can also save you time and stamps.

Rule #4, check your statement each month to be sure you are still at interest rate you signed up for. If your rate has been increased, look for a late payment fee, or some other reason for increase. Call company and ask them why they increased your rate.

If your rate was unjustly increased (they processed payment late or credited it to your account late, but it was not received late) then ask them to change your rate back to what it should be.

Even if you did make a late payment, most companies will reduce your rate after six months of on-time payments. But if you don't ask, they will keep you at higher rate as long as they can.

In credit card business it is definitely "caveat emptor" or buyer beware!

Growth

The next level of personal finance, as I alluded to before, is growth.

Once you are secure and stable, you can begin to think about building your wealth. Not that you have to figure out how to become next Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. But you have to start building "nest-egg" that you will rely on when you retire.

And don't think that Social Security has you covered, or that your 401k will grow back to what it was a couple years ago. Or that your current employer is going to re-institute generous pension plans of yesteryear. 401ks are much cheaper to administer and you, employee, take hit when market goes down, not employer.

My father is nearing retirement age and I think he has a good plan. He has done some research and estimated what his expenses are going to be when he is retired. He then took a look at his potential sources of income during his retirement.

He figured that Social Security would cover about a third of what he wanted to live on. Only a third! And he has worked his entire life. Would you like to instantly have to live on only one third of what you currently make? Retirement is suppose to be golden years, so where's gold?

Luckily throughout his career, my father has worked for companies that have had pension plans and he had worked long enough at each company to be eligible for some pension money. This is rare these days because today average worker will change jobs and companies at least five times during his/her career. Also, as I mentioned before, companies are switching to lower cost 401k plans that do not guarantee you any fixed payments.

In my father's situation, his pension money would cover another third of retirement income he wanted. So now he had to either figure out where last third was going to come from, or start cutting out expenses during retirement, like not visiting his children so much. None of us liked sound of that.

So my father started learning about stock market and investing in stocks and mutual funds. He made a plan for growing his wealth and then educated himself as to how he could accomplish his plan.

I wish I could say that he is doing better than he is, but luckily he has some time still to put his plan into action and ride out any market downturns. (He can do this because he has security of insurance and emergency money, and stability of little debt and a strong set of skills.)

By learning about how stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, options, futures, commodities, real estate and other financial tools work you lay foundation for growing your wealth. You may start with just $100 in a bank CD, but as you learn more and become more sophisticated, you can invest in more and more opportunities.

You will learn about how risk and reward are related, that as risk increases so does size of potential reward. Just like at race track, you'll make more on long shot, but odds are against it. Also you can learn how to tilt odds in your favor and protect yourself against risk.

For those who are just starting out in growth phase or who want to dabble a bit before completing other levels of personal finance, my suggestion would be to look into index mutual funds. Especially no-load index funds (no initial/sales fee).

These funds are made up of same stocks that make up popular market indexes like Dow Jones, S&P and NASDAQ100. The costs are low because management is simple and as a mutual fund you can invest a little at a time. Also they are easy to follow since you see them on all news shows and in newspaper.

Protection and Management

The final level of personal finance is protection and management of your wealth. Most people never develop wealth enough to need this level. But some of concepts can be applied to any amount of wealth you possess, $10,000 to $10,000,000.

Part of protection harks back to your will as we discussed on first personal finance level: security.

With any significant wealth or valuable asset (your home, car, heirlooms, 401k, IRA, business, etc.) you will want some way of disposing of that asset upon your death. Whether it is go to go your family, favorite charity, or local church, if no one knows about it, "it ain't gonna happen".

As you start to accumulate wealth in excess of $350,000, you may want to consult an attorney about creating a trust. A trust is an entity that can own property and pass that property to anyone you name in your will. Usually trust is designed to provide income to children from assets that are placed in trust.

The trust can survive you so that your assets and income may be passed on to your children or next-of-kin without excessive taxation and legal entanglements. Some states will take up to 55% of your assets as taxes when you pass away.

Protection also relates back to insurance. Now it may be time to look at a multi-million dollar umbrella policy that will protect you from lawsuits designed to part you and your wealth. You may now be a bigger target, so purchase a suit of armor.

The management aspect comes into play where you may start to concern yourself with taxation, ownership, distribution of income and possibly endowments to charities or other non-profit institutions.

You may hire a person or company to manage your wealth, or you may choose to do it yourself. Most people who have earned their wealth through "sweat of their brow" have already become adept at managing their assets. Some continue to personally manage their wealth because of enjoyment or challenge it gives them.

Others are ready to turn it over to a trustworthy manager (who only gets paid a percentage of your increase) and travel world, or sit on a beach and count waves.

Whatever your dreams for retirement (and why wait until you are 65), understanding different levels of personal finance and spending time and resources to educate yourself will pay off whether you live next to Bill Gates or Homer Simpson.