People have written personal checks for years.  How bad could they be?

It turns out there's a lot of sensitive information on a check.  With a little slip of paper, people know where you live, your bank account details, and what your signature looks like.  It seems like those items could come in handy for a thief.

Bargaineering makes a case for ditching personal checks whenever possible.  Other forms of payment, such as debit cards, offer more consumer protection (and it's easier to track your spending).

Do you still write checks?  Tell us why in the comments.

Further reading:

• 8 Reasons to Never Write Checks

There are a lot of things to take care of before the year ends.  Some are "use it or lose it" benefits, such as funds in your Flexible Spending Account.

I got two emails today telling me to check my credit.  One was a friendly reminder about my free annual credit reports from a credit bureau, and the other was from a website trying to get me to pay for credit reports.  Of course, the credit bureau wants to sell me additional services and earn a few extra bucks, but the reminder was helpful.

Once every 12 months, you're entitled to a free credit report from each of the 3 major credit bureaus.  The report is truly free - no strings attached - although they try to sell additional products as you go through the process.  To find out more about this program, see How to Get Your Free Credit Reports.

If you don't order a report every 12 months, you're leaving free and valuable information on the table.  You can even stagger your orders throughout the year so you get one from each of the credit bureaus every few months.  For many, that's often enough to deal with any problems or errors.

As you figure out how many more times you can go to the dentist before 2010, be sure to give your credit a regular check-up as well.

Further reading:

• How Credit Scores Work
• AnnualCreditReport.com

Mortgage rates are back at the low levels, making home purchases and refinancing more attractive.

What exactly do the low rates mean, and how can you compare rates? One way to compare loans is to look at the annual percentage rate (APR).

APR is not perfect, but it gives you a starting point to compare costs on different options. See how APR works learn more about it, and how you can calculate it.

Further reading:

• Get the Wrong Loan by Comparing APR

Reward checking accounts have been under a lot of pressure lately.

Banks are finding it harder to make a profit with the accounts, and they've made it harder for some customers to work the system.

Bankdeals reports that the accounts are under even more pressure - this time from regulators.  The FDIC is limiting how much interest banks can pay if they're "less than well capitalized".

The idea is that troubled banks may try to soak up assets by offering extremely high rates. If things don't work out, the FDIC has to cover all the funds that gushed into the bank (and stronger banks suffer when their customers jump ship for artificially high rates). Of course, the definition of a troubled bank can be fuzzy.

Reward checking accounts seem to be in the FDIC's crosshairs.  If you're looking to open a new account, stick to stronger banks.  You're less likely to get an email telling you the reward rate is no longer allowed.

Further reading:

• Reward Checking Basics
• What Happens in a Bank Failure?