There is a thin line that differentiates investing and gambling.

We might consider professional gamblers—poker players, for example—a breed of speculative investors. Of course, we might also call investment professionals who take wild risks in financial markets gamblers. No matter how skilled the card shark or how practiced the investing maven, one thing is certain: in cards, as in the stock market, there are no guarantees.

Whether we gamble or invest, we take risks in pursuit of potential rewards.

We risk a dollar on a lottery ticket for a potential to win ten million dollars, we risk $25 on a hand of blackjack for the potential to double our money, we risk $5,000 to buy a penny stock for the potential it will triple in three months, or we risk our life’s savings in the stock market for the potential to earn consistent annual returns.

Each risk carries vastly different odds (and potential returns). At the one extreme, the odds you will lose your dollar is good; of winning the lottery, not so good. On the other extreme, the odds of making a modest return on a long-term investment in the stock market is good; the odds you’ll lose a chunk of your savings is much lower.

But are investing and gambling the same? Let’s use an example to find out: [...]

Have you ever wondered why your checking account is free? Obviously, it’s not because your bank is feeling charitable. Big banks make big money. The kind of money that leads to the obscene Wall Street bonuses we so often hear about. But banks make money even when they’re not involved in Wall Street’s multinational investment deals and billion-dollar hedge funds. Old fashioned “retail banking” (i.e., taking deposits and making loans) is quite a business by itself.

Banks are never short of come-ons for winning new customers; some banks offer new depositors free checks, cash bonuses or iPods (just to name a few).

That’s because banks can’t make money until they have your money. [...]

Let’s be honest: We make a lot of mistakes with credit cards.

I like to assume that most people don’t start drowning in high-interest credit card debt on purpose. We don’t choose to fork over billions to credit card companies every year because we feel bad that their execs’ planes are getting a little old.

But we do.

As you hopefully know by now, the overarching mistake that leads to all this debt is using credit cards to spend money we don’t have. But again, many people don’t realize this is happening as they swipe their cards. And one dangerous credit card mistake makes this far easier to do. Do you make it?

Do you fool yourself about the value of credit card rewards?

Cash-back and rewards credit cards can put a few hundred extra dollars into savvy spenders’ pockets every year. But the credit card banks don’t offer rewards to pay off customers who will never make the banks money; they offer rewards to bait customers who will pay the banks handsomely. Could that be you? Here are a few reasons it might be: [...]

Four years ago, nearly dozing off in class, I thought to myself: “What if I borrow a million dollars, hide it somewhere then declare bankruptcy?” The idea seemed as diabolically ingenious as a well-planned bank heist. And I actually considered it! Today, of course, I realize how foolish that idea was and that pulling it off would have been nearly impossible.

But can you blame me for dreaming about it? After all, I assumed that anyone would just lend me money (even $1 million) without peeking at my credit history. Was it my fault I didn’t know what “credit” was?

At 18 or 19, I was, like the majority of my generation, completely naïve about even the most basic financial concepts: credit, saving and investing. I’ve become more cash-savvy since. I can’t say the same for all of my peers although, fortunately, the recession may mark the beginning of an era when frugality, financial literacy and saving savoir-faire become as hot as Facebook and iPhones. [...]

Do you have an “army” of cashback credit cards? Is this plastic in your wallet a force to be reckoned with? Does each of your credit cards serve a special role that, when combined, earn you a ton of rewards just for your ordinary shopping?

These days, some argue that a cashback credit card is a necessity. After all, if you’re going to shop with a credit card, it doesn’t make sense to swipe a card that doesn’t give you something back in return—whether that’s cash, rewards points, or airline miles.

But the savviest spenders have taken cashback credit cards to a whole new level. Every cashback or rewards credit card works a little differently, but many cards pay higher rewards in specific spending categories like gas, groceries, dining, or air travel.

Pulling out one card while shopping for groceries, another at the gas pump, and another one at your favorite restaurant isn’t that out of the ordinary. Having an arsenal of cashback credit cards at your disposal serves one primary goal: Earn as much cash back as possible.

Let’s look at how a few popular cashback credit cards can work in tandem to optimize your cashback earnings. In this example, my army of credit cards includes: [...]

If you shop online, you’re already accustomed to getting the hottest fashions and gadgets at the best price—without finding parking at the mall and waiting in lines—delivered right to your door. But these days there are so many Internet retailers clamoring for your business with crazy-sounding sales and discounts, how can you really know you’re getting the best deal when you shop online?

A few weeks back, I hastily bought a coat online when I came across a site having a one-day sale. The subtotal was $100 less than the retail price, but tax and shipping ate up about $25 of that discount. Even worse, when the coat arrived, it didn’t fit. Then, when I exchanged the coat at a store, I received a small refund for the sales tax I paid; the Website charged me more sales tax than I would’ve paid by shopping at a store in my state!

Although I still saved money on the coat with this online sale, the experience taught me there are plenty of little things to watch out for when shopping online. Overlook just one of these things and a deal could turn out to be less fabulous than it looks. [...]