There were more than 1 million foreclosures in 2010, according to RealtyTrac, a leading online real estate marketplace and publisher of the country's largest and most comprehensive foreclosure database. In fact, banks seized a total of 1.05 million properties, topping the previous record of 918,000 in 2009.

It can be tempting to dip into retirement money when no cash is left in the bank and there are bills to be paid, but you must resist the temptation! Retirement funds are for one and only one thing—retirement. They need to be left alone so you can take care of yourself when you're old and gray.

Did you know that your credit reports may not reflect all your credit accounts? The truth is creditors aren't required to report anything to the major credit bureaus, so many lenders simply choose not to do so. Smaller credit unions, local retailers, student loan lenders, and gas card companies often fall into this category of non-reporting lenders.

Lots of lawyers, real estate agents, and loan officers love to give free advice about credit scores these days. Unfortunately, many of them have no clue what they're talking about.

A common piece of misguided advice often doled out to struggling homeowners is that choosing an alternative to foreclosure, such as a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, will hurt your credit scores less. This just isn't the case.