On the surface, it seems simple: Pay off your debt and keep it paid off. For anyone mired or wallowing in a debt hole though, such advice sounds trite, almost laughable and easily dismissed.

There are a number of ways people get stuck in this murk. Put aside for a minute that a huge amount of revolving credit is made readily available to virtually every member of society (it's not all that difficult to find stories about companies accidentally issuing platinum credit cards to babies, deceased grandmothers and the family dog). Sometimes it's the simple and unfortunate life events, those which can happen to just about anyone, that drive a lot of people into positions where they need help.

Given how widespread the problem is, it's not all that surprising to see a whole industry of debt settlement specialists springing up online, on the airways and in advertising just about everywhere you turn.

Some of these companies are legit but a lot of them are predatory too, promising to dispense with a would-be clients' debt in a very short time, usually for a fraction of what's owed.

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Happy New Year!

Do you have resolutions? Do they involve hauling yourself to the gym? Have you been yet this month? If not, save the money you might otherwise spend on a membership you won't use, start small, pick fun activities (don't spend a cent) and get started right here, right now.

Note: If you have other ambitions, say you want to learn how to knit, take up some other crafty-type hobby, learn to play an instrument or even just how to whistle (actually gave myself a headache with that one), this post can help you too.

We don't know when, but interest rates are almost certainly going up this year.

I hate to foist yet one more January goal-setting article on you, but what if you could position things so you wouldn't find yourself in a post-holiday debt hole again at this time next year? (Higher rates mean all of your post holiday debt will be that much more expensive to carry.)

"Many people do not plan for their holiday spending in their budgets, even though it is a major annual expense," says Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada. "As a result, these expenses often end up on credit cards that can take well into the New Year to pay off."

If you've overspent at the holidays, he offers the following tips to help get back on track.

So are you tired of hearing the repeated platitudes about how you should change your passwords and keep them safe from those who might steal your information? Personally, I can't keep up with the passwords I do have. And you want me to keep changing them too?

Related:
The 25 Worst Passwords of 2011
The Most Common Hiding Places for Workplace Passwords

When it comes to cyber security, though, passwords and malware are just the tiniest tip of the iceberg. Even this tiny tip though, if ignored, can create a significant and vulnerable weak point which can compromise your own information and the information at companies you work for. You could even, unwittingly, allow your computer to be part of a larger network which attempts to bring down country infrastructures.

Depending on how you look at things, this can either sound hysterical or just too big for one person to worry about.

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We all know companies and people the world over are competing for the money in your wallet. Would you believe there's stiff (and growing) competition for your debt too?

Unfortunately you probably shouldn't go running out to jump in with the first company that promises to settle your debt difficulties (were it only so simple!)

Still, if you troll websites like Facebook, if you've ever keyed some debt-related query into Google or if you listen to the radio, you've undoubtedly seen or heard advertising from companies promising relief "if you qualify." (Note: As discussed earlier, any claims that such programs are part of some government-backed initiative are complete balderdash – be careful!)

If the debt-freedom prospect appeals and you are looking at this as one of your options to getting there, one of the first things to know is that there's a difference between companies who negotiate debt settlement deals with your creditors and the more traditional not-for-profit credit counseling organizations.

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Not all that long ago I remember scrambling around for last-minute gifts to buy for the new babies in my life. There are a lot of cute options (as you've no doubt noticed if you find yourself in this boat) but I got the strong impression that cute alone isn't enough to carry the day.

Now that I have a small human of my own, it's becoming clear that instinct was correct – there are a lot of cute toys the kid doesn't care about and a lot of cute clothes that only get worn once.

Need baby gift ideas? I'm pretty close to the subject these days. Forget the onesie – sizing on kids clothes is such a crap shoot, particularly when they're growing like unpredictable weeds. (The kids, not the clothes.)

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You might be surprised at which cars are most frequently stolen in Canada. Topping the list is not your super-luxury sports car – those are probably too well protected.

It doesn't matter that they're well beyond their best-before date in car years, if you own an aging Honda Civic or Acura, yours is probably on the list of models car thieves and shady parts dealers look out for. (Toyotas, Fords, Cadillac, Chevrolet and even a Pontiac model all make the list this year too.)

The Insurance Bureau of Canada released its annual list this week. Interestingly, they say stolen cars are now showing up more frequently in the local market – they're not necessarily being exported out of the country. Oftentimes, they say the cars are being re-sold to unsuspecting customers.

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When looking at your different debt settlement options, the impact each effort might have on your credit rating is no doubt top of mind.

"There's a feeling out there with the Canadian public, generally speaking, that your credit rating is one of the most important things on the planet," says Richard Cooper, president and CEO at Total Debt Freedom Inc. "The truth is it doesn't matter what you do, what debt relief program you sign up for, it's going to have an adverse affect on your credit rating."

That said, he adds this: "A credit rating is really like a rose garden and your debt is like a house. If your house is burning down, do you really care if the fire department is destroying your rose garden with their hoses?"

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It turns out we're still a nation of givers: According to Statistics Canada, the amount people gave to charity in 2010 rose 6.9 per cent compared to the previous year.

The total for that year came in at just under $8.3-billion. The number of donors increased too – the Canada Revenue Agency says just over 5.7 million reported charitable donations when filing their tax returns this year.