Last month I put my credit knowledge to the test at FreeScoreQuiz.com, powered by FreeScore, and confirmed what I suspected, I have a great handle on the dos and don’ts of money-management.

But knowing, and doing are two totally different things.

I’d like to think I am a responsible spender. I use cash instead of credit whenever possible to avoid unnecessary interest fees. Wait for sales and flip over amazing bargains. In fact, years later I’m still basking in the shopper’s-high glow of a few score-of-a-lifetime bargains. I’ll spare you the details… this time.

But discount shopping fun aside; I have my spending slip-ups too. I love live music and nights out with friends, and rarely say no when presented opportunities to participate in either. Leaving me to wonder: Am I really responsible with my money? Or do I just turn a blind eye to my bad habits?

I figured it was time to face facts and see if I truly practice what I preach, or should learn to keep my comments to myself the next time my boyfriend plays 36 holes in one day.

Good thing then Filbert the Squirrel is back with another revealing quiz from FreeScore, this time specifically for Facebook. The FreeScore Financial Personality Quiz helped me determine whether I’m a “Jet Setter,” “Money Maven,” “Cheapskate,” or “Living on a Prayer” when it comes to my finances.

Apparently, I’m NOT a “Jet Setter” — really no big surprise there. But Filbert and FreeScore did help me figure out a thing or two about what kind of money-manager I am, and I’m sure the FreeScore Financial Personality Quiz on Facebook can do the same for you.

Take the FreeScore Financial Personality Quiz on Facebook and then tell me what you learned about your own spending habits.

With the unemployment rate flirting with 10%, personal and commercial bankruptcy filings are again spiking higher and are projected to reach 1.5 million this year, according to a USA Today report June 4.

Personal bankruptcy filings occurred 6,020 times a day last month, not quite as bad as the 2 million filings in 2005, but startlingly higher than 2008’s 1.1 million. Corporate bankruptcies are occurring at the rate of 376 a day, compared to 255 a day in May 2008.

According to USA Today, Nevada, Michigan and California had the largest increase in bankruptcy filings per capita last month, higher than anywhere else in the nation. (Think real estate bust and ailing car makers.)

Bankruptcy laws were rejiggered in 2005 to reduce abuse of the system and make it harder for individuals to file for bankruptcy. But rising joblessness is putting the squeeze on many families, who then follow a predictable downward spiral of exhausting savings, depleting retirement accounts and turning to credit cards to pay the bills before resorting to the worst-case scenario — bankruptcy.

What’s the best defense?  Follow these strategies to protect yourself if you fear a job layoff could happen to you.

We’ve all heard the ads from companies that claim they can help you settle your outstanding debts for far less than what you really owe. But as with most things that seem too good to be true, it turns out that these claims are too.

Many consumers who find themselves trapped by debt are lured by these advertised promises to reduce your debt burden, sometimes by up to 75 percent. In return, the companies require an upfront fee. However, these fees can turn out to be rather large, depending on the size of the debt, and with payments required in advance, there’s little incentive for the companies to follow through on their promises.

Now, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is calling many of these debt-settlement companies out on their empty promises and shady practices.  He’s subpoenaed fee-structure records from 14 debt-settlement companies and one law firm.

“Today, millions of hardworking Americans are finding themselves imprisoned by debt. In response, a rouge industry has stepped in, offering consumers false hope, charging tremendous fees, and leaving them in a worse financial situation,” Cuomo said in a statement to the press.

But consumers need to take responsibility to protect themselves before getting involved with disreputable companies in the first place. The best way to protect yourself: Read the fine print! Know what you’re getting into before you agree to anything or pay one penny.

Attorney Gail Hillebrand told MarketWatch that consumers should steer clear of any company that requires payment upfront. She also warns consumers to avoid doing business with companies that tell customers to stop paying off their debts while the company is in the negotiation process. If you stop paying, she says, you’re only setting yourself up for harassing phone calls from collection agencies and the very real possibility of lawsuits — not to mention significant damage to your credit score.

Instead, Hillebrand says you should contact creditors directly to see if you can work out a payment plan before you’re in too deep. Credit counseling is another avenue to explore before jumping on board with one of these for-hire companies, because it has the least impact on your credit rating.

I planted a vegetable garden.

In my mind’s eye, it will be brimming over by mid-summer with a bounty of string beans, yellow wax beans, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, spaghetti squash, acorn squash and other delectables.

Right now, it’s a barren-looking rectangle, newly planted with my cool-weather crops — lettuce, snap peas, radishes and spinach.

Despite living for 14 years on well over an acre of land with good-looking topsoil, it’s just the third time I’ve attempted an in-ground vegetable garden. I was foiled early on by resident woodchucks who demonstrated their aptitude for razing beds of delicate coral bells, astilbe and other perennials in a single evening. But they’re not fussy, they’ll eat almost anything.

Of course, it’s a rare Connecticut homeowner who doesn’t have deer problems, and I, unfortunately, don’t fall into that hallowed category. The deer are comfortable enough in my backyard to give birth in the blackberry brambles. For a time, I was mesmerized by the fawns that raced around the lawn in circles; they were so close I could hear the sound of their pounding hooves. By that fall, my fascination with what a co-worker once called “rats on hooves” had worn a bit thin, as did my azaleas.

So my gardening of recent years was limited to a few potted tomato plants and a lone basil plant that nonetheless delivered up some great homemade pesto sauce.

Last year, I hastily threw some vegetable plants in a bare patch of earth and surrounded it all with plastic fencing. I made the mistake of anchoring the tomato seedlings to the fence itself, but as the tomatoes grew — hugely — their weight caused the fence to slowly implode toward the center. I could no longer walk inside, but I still collected a bounty — 130 tomatoes, 35 or so cucumbers and a half-dozen bell peppers.

This year, I decided to get serious, encouraged by woodchucks who seemed to consider the front yard beyond their God-given territory. So I expanded the original footprint of the 5′ x 5′ garden to 11′ x 18′, investing in a more durable 6-foot-high metal fence and posts.

While I’ve always enjoyed gardening just for the fun of it, my little experiment this year will be to measure how economical it is to grow my own produce. So as the garden grows, I’ll be tracking my output, weighing everything I get on my kitchen scale and calculating what it would cost to buy comparable veggies at my local supermarket.

I’ll share my progress with you from time to time, and by season’s end, I’ll report back with my final tally, weighed against expenses. (They were considerable, thanks to that fencing, which only comes in rolls of 50 feet. I needed 59 feet but couldn’t expand the garden further due to some serious tree roots and pre-existing shade.)

The garden will be planted with radishes, lettuce, snap peas, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, red potatoes, string beans, yellow wax beans, garlic, basil, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini and bell peppers.

Elsewhere on the property I have asparagus, chives, strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, blueberries, black raspberries and blackberries growing. Assorted critters usually get to the strawberries, blueberries, cherries and gooseberries first, partly because their output is not huge and it’s often not worth the trouble to do more than snack on a berry or two if I’m in that area. The wild brambles, on the other hand, cover a huge area in the backyard and during their peak in July, I feast on wild raspberries and blackberries with my morning cereal, bake berry crisps and drink berry smoothies.

There’s nothing like using the resources in your own backyard.

Earlier this year, I pledged to live a cash-only lifestyle. Well, as much as possible. Some things — like the cable bill — are better left to automatic bill paying. When I took this challenge on, I knew one large obstacle lay ahead: A Park City, Utah, vacation that I had committed to last summer. But I’m happy to report that a combination of planning and frugality resulted in an affordable and — most importantly — interest-free vacation!

Here’s how I did it:

• Lodging: 6 people, 5 nights — $350 per person.A friend took the reins on this vacation. She reserved the house, and the rest of us made our checks out to her.TRAVEL TIP: Travel during the off-season. We went in mid-March, at the start of the off-season to save money. We rented a three-bedroom duplex within walking distance to the Park City resort and downtown at a reduced rate because we waited until after the busy season was over. Plus, our late-season adventure afforded us beautiful weather and wide-open slopes.

• Airfare: $333 roundtrip.I booked a roundtrip coach flight from New York to Salt Lake City (direct going, one stop returning) online for $333 and paid with my debit card to avoid interest fees.TRAVEL TIP: Check out Kayak.com. The travel website cross-compares fares from hundreds of other travel sites and tracks price variances from day to day to help you pinpoint the best time to jump at a good deal. You can also set up “fare alerts” that send automatic emails when the prices drop for flights you’re interested in.

• Car rental: 4 people, 5 days — $90 per person.There was just no way around this expense. We visited several mountains within an hour’s drive from Salt Lake City — Park City Mountain Resort, Alta Resort, Powder Mountain Resort and Snowbasin Resort — making an SUV rental absolutely necessary.TRAVEL TIP: A friend negotiated the SUV rental at a mid-sized sedan’s price. All it took was a friendly inquiry at the rental company’s counter when he picked up the car. I suggest you try it too.

• Ski rentals and lift tickets: $134.That happens to be my total. I didn’t ski as much as the others did. But here are a few tips everyone can use to save.TRAVEL TIP: To avoid oversized baggage fees at the airport, we left our gear at home and rented equipment in Utah. Also, we rented everything for the week and purchased discount lift tickets in advance from one off-mountain rental shop and saved a bunch off day-of lift tickets and equipment rental charges at each individual mountain.

• Food and Drink: $199 per couple.As a group, we decided to stay in and cook instead of hitting expensive restaurants every night. Each couple was responsible for buying whatever they needed to create our respective culinary masterpieces. Leftovers were brought to the mountain the next day for lunch, and everyone grabbed an extra bag of chips or two for after-mountain snacks. This amount also includes the traditional post-mountain lodge drinks to warm us up before our trek back to Park City.TRAVEL TIP: My boyfriend and I religiously contributed to a change jar we started in April 2008. Before we took off for Utah, we cashed out $374. This completely offset our food cost and helped our lift ticket cause.

While the trip’s cost certainly wasn’t chump change, we cut corners where we could to make it manageable. Planning far ahead afforded all of us the time needed to set money aside and pay off our trip beforehand. Using cash while there ensured that memories, not the bills, were the only things left over once we arrived home.

Private student loan lenders are preparing to fight for their survival as the Obama administration seeks to end $94 billion in loan subsidies to private lenders that officials say could be put to better use by giving the money directly to needy students.

Revamping the student loan program could change how millions of college students finance their college education.

The government plan would change the way the student loan business has operated for the past 16 years. Currently, while some students do get loans directly from the Education Department, many others get their loans through the Federal Family Education Loan Program, through which private companies receive subsidies from the federal government. Students are directed toward one or the other, depending on school administrators’ preferences. President Obama would like all student loans to come directly from the government so that the enormous savings realized from the increased efficiencies of doing so could be redirected to low-income students in the form of Pell grants.

According to a recent Washington Post story, student loan companies claim the move would put thousands of industry employees out of work, increase the national debt and lower the quality of service to borrowers. Lenders insist that their marketing, customer relations, billing, and delinquent loan collection are important services, the New York Times reports. Supporters of the proposal say the move is long overdue, a no-brainer, in fact, and point out that the loan companies have collected lucrative fees with virtually no risk, since the government guarantees loan repayment up to 97%.

Detractors of the proposal include some lawmakers, several of whom represent the states where private student loan companies are based, who say the move would give too much control to government. The fact is, the government already had to step in to rescue the industry last year with the injection of additional funding to keep student loan financing alive. So why exactly do we need private student loan lenders?

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of taxpayer money propping up private industry and I think private student loan lenders are dispensable. What’s your take?

While my results are mixed, I’ve realized something: credit and debit cards have spoiled me. I remember a childhood spent going to the bank with my mom to pick up cash for our errands, and you know what? I am really glad I don’t have to do that — other than the missed lollypops, of course.

It seemed almost every time I needed something, my wallet was empty. While it did curb some spending — e.g, I got creative with what was already in my cupboard instead of calling delivery or going out to eat — for the most part, it was just a hassle.

The month before I cut credit cards and use cash, I charged a total of $975.95 to my debit card. In the process I discovered I spent one-third, or $338.83, dining out. So this month I made a point to bring lunch whenever feasible, eat leftovers and get creative instead of calling for takeout.

The result: Less overall spending, but more in the “food” category. Here’s why: I went on a ski vacation!

Treating friends to a lunch and cocktails is almost exactly the difference between last month’s $338.83 and this month’s $468.36. But it was something I wanted to do, so I certainly can’t complain. Plus, the $330 from the change collection I’ve been working on all year covered all of my lift tickets and rentals.

Overall, though, I was still able to reduce my monthly cash flow by $157.20, for a total of $818.75.

All in all, I don’t think I was as disciplined as I could have been, but I did wind up saving overall. For my next trick, I’m going to really put the squeeze on my budget and see if I can bring down my total by another $150 — or more — next month.

Many taxpayers who owe the IRS money tend to wait until the very last minute to file their taxes.  (San Franciscans, Houstonites and New Yorkers are the three worst procrastinators, according to TurboTax.)

I can’t say I blame them, but for those of you who fall in this category, remember there’s still about five days to dig out your receipts for charitable donations, which can lower your tax bill.

The IRS says you can deduct the “fair market value” of donated clothing and household goods, based on how much your donations would sell for in today’s market.

Don’t guess at the value of your donations, because exaggerated valuations could trigger an audit.  Instead, check the “value guide” at the Salvation Army or Goodwill.  The Salvation Army site includes high and low estimated valuations based on condition, age and quality. It’s up to you to gauge condition. Most clothing, for instance, has a very low valuation; for example, a man’s raincoat can be valued for tax purposes from a low of $5 to a high of $20. A child’s blouse can be valued from a low of $2 to a high of $8, and a woman’s skirt can go for a low of $3 to a high of $8. Valuations are also provided for appliances, furniture and household goods.

Remember that you can’t take a tax deduction on anything sold through a consignment store, which typically offer donors a percentage of the final sale price.  Direct contributions to specific individuals, rather than qualified charitable organizations, are also not tax-deductible.

Federal regulators want to crack down on “free lunch” investment seminars, where high-pressure sales tactics often cause retirees to make unwise investment decisions.

According to the AARP, three out of five investors over age 60 received six or more invitations to a free investment seminar in the past three years. A free meal (and, often, door prizes) are used to boost attendance, but those who do attend are often subjected to inflated claims by seminar presenters, who suggest they’ll reveal the secret to eliminating taxes, investing without risk or tripling earnings. Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their spouses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators sent investigators to sit in on seminars. “Their findings,” the AARP story said, “were deeply disturbing.”

“Every rock that we turned over seemed to have a bug or a worm crawling out underneath,” SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said. “In each of the sweeps we conducted, we found significant fraud.”

The real goal of the seminars, of course, is to sell investment products, and to do so, the companies sponsoring the seminars may misrepresent their products (e.g., “The risk is low” or “People are making a lot of money from similar investments”) and use overly aggressive tactics (e.g., “You have to decide today”). These include follow-up home visits, phone calls and a hard sell intended to make seminar attendees buy the product quickly.

Regulators, however, have limited staffing and need your help. The AARP is recruiting seminar monitors who are willing to attend free lunch investment seminars, collect handouts distributed during the presentation, and complete an AARP questionnaire about their experience. The AARP will make sure the monitors’ comments get forwarded to state regulators.

Hard times really seem to bring out con artists ⎯ even those wearing a suit and tie ⎯ who count on people’s willingness to believe exaggerated claims that they can profit with virtually no risk. Kind of reminds me of sub-prime mortgage lenders.

Government websites aren’t usually known for their user-friendly design and sometimes come off as too stuffy, difficult to navigate and businesslike for the average person to get past.

That’s why it’s refreshing to check out the new Money Matters site launched by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It doesn’t look or read like a government site but instead offers commonsense, easily understood advice that focuses largely on basic money management practices and avoiding a wide variety of consumer scams and rip-offs.

Right now, it looks like they could still flesh out their inventory of content, but some of the topics now listed there include managing debt, choosing a credit card and finding a job, all discussed in a very down-to-earth and sensible manner. A Spanish version of the website is also available.