The Money Blunders Even the Pros Make

The Expert: Sheryl Garrett, 46, founder of the Garrett Planning Network; author of Personal Finance Workbook for Dummies (Wiley)

My friends joke, "You can't trust Sheryl with a remote control and a credit card." Show me a late-night infomercial and I think, "I've got to have that." But a worse impulse purchase happened on a supposedly frugal vacation in Florida 20 years back. There was a kiosk offering breakfast, tickets to your choice of theme parks, and $50 in cash, in exchange for listening to a time-share presentation. I went -- and walked out $6,000 poorer, owner of a one-week stay every year at a fancy hotel near Disney World. The deal included a visit to a Pompano Beach resort, where I fell for yet another pitch and coughed up $13,000 for a two-week time-share. Later I found that maintenance and other expenses add up to $1,000 a year. Selling isn't a great option, since time-shares usually go for far less than the original purchase price.

Lesson Learned: Now I don't buy anything without checking product reviews and doing price comparisons. I buy only what I need and can afford. I don't answer the door if the vacuum cleaner salesman knocks -- unless I'm shopping for that brand of vacuum. I avoid situations where anyone might try to sell me anything. So no more retail therapy at department stores -- and no more watching TV with credit card in hand.