5 money mistakes to avoid in 2011

Did you make any money mistakes this year? Here are five things I did wrong with my finances that you'll want to avoid in 2011.

1. Gambling with insurance
I breathed a sigh of relief when we moved into a new home in 2010. We loved our old house but it was in a 500-year flood plain and we didn't have flood insurance. Our mortgage holder didn't require us to carry a flood policy so we didn't buy the coverage in order to save money. It was a dumb risk to take and I should have known better.

Taking that chance could have been disastrous. The 2010 floods in Nashville that wiped out many homes were a perfect example of the dangers of not having sufficient insurance. Whether its flood, health, life, disability or auto insurance -- make sure you have enough to cover your life circumstances.

2. Missing out on employer matching
During open enrollment this fall I realized that I had been contributing 2 percent below the amount my employer would match in our employee ownership plan. I quickly bumped my contributions up in order to receive the full match but I missed out on free money all year long.

If your employer matches contributions, look for ...
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