Surely the list of things you should never do with your money is longer than these 12 recommendations. But you have to start somewhere. To give you some guidance, we asked financial experts to share their take on how to protect your financial security and avoid getting snookered.

1. Don’t Cash Your Paycheck

Having cash in hand can be dangerously tempting. “You will most certainly spend it all” if you cash your paycheck rather than have your employer directly deposit it into your bank account, said Barbara Friedberg, a financial expert and founder of Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance.com.

“Even better is to automatically transfer a percent of your paycheck into a retirement investment account and direct-deposit the remainder into a bank account,” she said.

One such advantage about a workplace retirement plan such as a 401k is that money is automatically deducted from your pay and invested. You don’t see it so you won’t spend it.

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