Various financial tips include paying extra on credit card balances

• That unpaid balance on your credit card can really hurt your finances.
• Most people know that if you make only the minimum monthly payment on your card, it can take you months -- or even years -- longer than you had intended before you can finally pay off the balance.
• Say you have $3,000 in debt on a credit card with a 15-percent interest rate.
• You figure you can do better meeting your monthly expenses, and even put a little aside for savings, if you pay only $75 per month on the card.
• Some people just have all the luck when it comes to their careers.
• Susan RoAne, author of the new book "How to Create Your Own Luck," says these seemingly fortunate people are really outstanding networkers who aren't afraid to make career changes.
• Name-dropping isn't necessarily bragging about how well connected you are.
• Finding a friend or acquaintance in common creates a more personal connection and opens new doors.
• Paying attention to what goes on around you can put you in a good position to ask for, or offer, help.
• It's also a fantastic way to learn about your field -- where it's headed, what is needed and who the people of importance are.
• You don't have to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
• Recent consumer data security breaches at ChoicePoint Inc., DSW Shoe Warehouse and LexisNexis demonstrated how vulnerable electronic information can be.
• "Security is moving from being regarded largely as a defensive measure to one that has become an integral part of systems design," said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based staffing service for IT professionals that commissioned the survey.