With the evolving financial crisis, lenders are especially vigilant about your credit. What can you do to make sure they don't cut your credit lines and leave you hanging?

The main thing is to keep your nose clean - make your payments on time and practice behavior that generally leads to good credit scores. However, you might even need to watch where you shop.

According to the Investment News, some issuers

"reduce the credit lines of customers who used their cards at pool halls, pawn shops and bars".

Although your transaction details and recreational habits are not part of the FICO credit score, the most commonly used score, these items can show up in other behavioral scoring models. So if you're worried about your credit limits, think twice before swiping that card.

Credit FAQs:

• What is Credit?
• What is a Credit Score?
• How Insurance Scores Work

Interest checking accounts allow you to earn interest on easily accessible cash. With interest rates as low as they are today, you've got to use every tool you can to manage your cash.

An interest checking account is like a mix between checking accounts and savings accounts. Some accounts pay as much or more than savings accounts, but you still have access to your cash with your checkbook and debit card. See how to use interest checking accounts and who some of the major providers are.

• 8 Reasons to Never Write Checks
• Debit Cards - Should You Choose Debit or Credit?

Citigroup got a lifeline over the weekend.

The US government agreed to provide $326 billion in rescue funds, although Citi has already taken $25 billion of that. The rest will be used to guarantee troubled assets on Citi's books. We the taxpayers now own 7.8% of Citigroup.

The rescue comes just after several foreign investors pumped money into Citi. Those investors may have had some pretty good luck, as the government backstop includes support from the Treasury and FDIC in case Citi sees extensive losses.

Further reading:

• Mortgage Crisis Causes

Some banks offer especially high returns on savings and CDs. Is this unfair, immoral, or insane?

Competitors claim that small banks are snatching up deposits by offering the highest rates. This helps keep them afloat, but other banks have a hard time keeping assets on the books - a dangerous thing in today's world.

The Bankdeals blog recently covered the topic, and an interesting discussion follows. While banking executives call high-yield savings rates "insane", an astute commenter retorts:

"The insane interest rates are the interest rates that banks charge on their credit card balances."

The discussion also gets into how FDIC insurance puts a safety net under banks fighting for deposits. If things go wrong, the insurance fund steps in - so people are more likely to chase rates at less established institutions.

Do you think it's unfair to offer annual percentage yields (APY) substantially higher than the competition? Tell us about it in the comments.

Further reading:

• Highest Savings Account Interest Rates
• How FDIC Insurance Works