Bad habits are often linked to health problems. Chronic smoking and drinking quickly come to mind. But rotten decisions can be linked to all kinds of unfortunate circumstances. Financial trouble often follows an addiction to misspending. Here are five leading contenders.

Thinking retail store credit cards are a good deal

Everyone has done it: make a big purchase while simultaneously falling victim to the 15 percent discount offered for signing up for a store credit card. This can sound like a good idea at the time, but unless you maintain strict discipline paying your bill, any savings will be lost to an exorbitant interest rate. According to lending information site Bankrate.com interest rates on retail cards are almost always substantially higher than on a standard card. These high rates make it extremely easy to rack up huge interest bills and ruin your credit score.

Thinking balance transfers are the savior

Credit card balance transfers provide a great service. Transfers allow consumers to combine outstanding debt onto one low rate card. The problem is that most cards with deals on balance transfers usually offer a teaser rate that expires after three or six months. The consumer must pay-off the balance during this timeframe if he or she wishes to avoid lofty interest payments. The interest rate rises substantially once the teaser runs out and the consumer can be stuck with a huge balance on a high rate card.

Avoiding credit reports like the plague

Every consumer is granted one free credit report per year, as required by law. Reports are available at annualcreditreport.com. It is necessary for consumers to do an annual check-up of their report if they wish to keep errors out of their financial lives. According to credit bureau Experian, roughly one out of four consumers have an error on their report. Errors can be anything from spelling mistakes to wrongly reported missed payments. Whatever the case, best get it fixed.

For more information on debt control visit www.bankrate.com, www.ftc.gov or www.nfcc.org.