Tricky financial 'treats'
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"A lot of times it's for a consolidation loan, and it's a cry for help," he says.

7. Overwithholding. "Everybody knows it's not a smart thing to do," says Bogosian. "But it feels like a bonus."

And while some tout it as a "forced savings plan," the truth is that when that refund comes, very few people put it into their savings, he says. Instead, it disappears into the checking account.

So, change your W-4 allowances so that you're paying the correct amount. Adjust your retirement contribution so that the money you would have gotten as a refund really does go into savings. You should still end up with a slightly larger paycheck because your retirement contribution is coming out of pretax dollars, says Bogosian.

8. Saving money in your child's name. This can hurt you in a couple of ways, says Bogosian. First, when it's time for college, it could reduce the amount of financial aid your child might be able to get. The financial aid process "values assets in the child's name more than assets in the parents' name," says Bogosian.

The other problem: Once the child comes of age, he or she may decide to use your hard-earned cash to buy a sports car and get a cool apartment instead of a college education.

Look into a 529 account (where money is saved for the child but belongs to the adult), or even a Roth IRA (yours or your child's), which can be tapped without penalty for education, says Bogosian.

9. Opening store credit to get a one-time discount. In this case, setting out to save a couple of bucks could cost you thousands, says Bogosian. When you take out a new card, your credit score could drop. Lenders see that you have the potential to rack up more debt, and that means you could have trouble paying off a loan. And that lower credit score could translate into a higher rate on your next long-term loan.

10. Keeping too much cash. Sounds like the ideal problem, right? But what it means is your money isn't out there making more money.

"You should have an emergency fund," says Bogosian, who recommends having up to six months of living expenses socked away for that rainy day. After that, you risk losing ground to inflation.

"Money is only as good as its ability to buy something," he says. "If you're getting 2 percent interest on your savings account and inflation is 3.5 percent a year, you're walking backward."