Throughout the year I dispense a lot of advice about money management. But the truth is, I make a lot of money mistakes.

So, as the year comes to a close, let me share some of the lessons I’ve learned in 2003:

Consequences of penny pinching

Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. For example, I hate paying high parking fees. In Washington, as in many big cities, you could save up the down payment on a nice retirement place with the money it costs to park. So whenever I have to travel downtown, I try to find on-street metered parking. Well, in the category of “what an idiot,” I recently got a $25 parking ticket because I was five minutes late getting back to my car. Ouch. So to save $10, I ended up paying $25.

More of a pain than bargain

Sometimes a discount isn’t a bargain. Usually I’m pretty good at reading a deal’s fine print but occasionally, especially if my children are in tow, I skim over the details of a discount. For example, Blockbuster had a great deal (or so I thought) on the purchase of the “Finding Nemo” video. You paid for the video in advance and received seven free movie rentals. The problem was I didn’t notice that the rentals were limited to one a week. To get my money’s worth, I had to go to Blockbuster every week for a little over a month. And each time, I ended up renting two or three additional videos. If you were a frequent movie renter, this was a good deal. But I’m not, so the deal was more bother than I had bargained for.

Keep cold cash handy

Carry some cash — all the time. In my never-ending quest to save, I decided that I would limit the amount of money I carry. I figure if I don’t have any money, I won’t spend it. There’s just one little problem. Sometimes you need actual cash. For example, during Hurricane Isabel the power went out in my area and the bank machines went down. Some of our food spoiled, so we had to go out to eat. I turned to my husband as I always do to bum some money off of him. Well, without any hesitation he said “No.” My husband is always fussing that I deplete his stash of cash because I refuse to carry my own. He finally relented. So, now I always make sure I have some money — still not a lot — but at least enough to get something to eat.

Organization can create savings

Get organized and throw stuff away. I have never met a piece of paper I didn’t want to keep. I hate to throw anything away. But when you’re a paper hog, it becomes hard to find your financial documents when you need them. After misplacing another important document, I vowed that I was going to get organized. Just so you know, here’s a guideline from Bankrate.com, the IRS and other experts on how long to keep some records:

• Bank records — Go through your checks each year and keep those related to your taxes, business expenses, housing and mortgage payments. Records such as receipts, canceled checks and other documents that prove an item of income or a deduction appearing on your return should be kept at least until the statute of limitations expires for that return. Usually this is three years from the date the return was due or filed, or two years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. Keep tax returns and all related receipts for six years if there’s a chance you may have under-reported income.
• Credit card slips — Keep your credit card receipts until you get your monthly statement, then you can get rid of the receipts if the two match up.