DEAR BRUCE: I owe $20,000 on credit cards, foolish spending for the most part. I'm hoping I have learned my lesson. Unfortunately, I am only able to make the minimum payments, and it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere. I have $25,000 in my 401(k), and I realize I should be saving this money for retirement. But it sure would be nice to get this debt off my back. Should I tap into this account? -- I.P., Phoenix, Ariz.

DEAR I.P.: The problem here: Not only are you taking the easy way out; you are giving up the shelter that those dollars will have for a good many years. You didn't mention your age, but I suspect you're just north of 30. If that's the case, you are throwing away 30 years of shelter. In my view, this is foolish. Why don't you go out and get a part-time job, using those proceeds strictly to pay off this obligation? To me, that would be the way to go.

But if you must -- and I underscore the word must -- retire this obligation, consider borrowing the money from the 401(k). This way, you will maintain the shelter at least and, when you pay back the loan, it will then grow for a good many years to come. I am not sympathetic to attacking retirement funds unless the circumstances are truly dire -- and yours are not.

DEAR BRUCE: I keep receiving those "you have been approved" credit-card proposals in the mail, so I finally decided to apply. When I filled out the application and returned it into the issuer, I was declined because of some spotty credit issues. How can they say you've been approved when, in fact, you haven't? -- Reader in Michigan

DEAR READER: I get a lot of those in the mail, too, and I just toss them. But if you read the fine print carefully, while it says "you have been approved" on the front, it also says "subject to credit approval" on the back. Don't take it for granted that preapproved means you will automatically receive credit. This is not the case.

DEAR BRUCE: We are a young couple who has been married for almost a year. We have no real expenses -- mortgage, car payments, etc. -- or children to care for. My husband is a penny pincher, and it drives me crazy. We are doing well financially -- I alone bring home $25,000 a year -- but he wants me to watch every penny. Last month, I had to buy some clothes, and my husband went ballistic when the credit-card statement arrived. These were things that I needed. Right now, we are young and should be enjoying life, not living like paupers. We will have a whole lifetime to watch our pennies. -- Reader, via e-mail

DEAR READER: Have you been watching television lately? If you haven't, then you should. The economy is the worst it has been since the Depression. Spending frivolously is the last thing you should be doing. I agree with your husband: $25,000 a year is not a lot of money and, with people's jobs going south every day, you should hang onto your income when you can. Your husband wants you to live within your means, and, today, that means cracking down and buying only what you need. I receive so many letters from readers who have run up huge credit-card bills and now want someone to bail them out. Fortunately, you have a mature husband keeping tabs on you. Look around: Things are tight right now, and you're spending as if there's no tomorrow. Stuff can happen, and you need to be prepared in case it does.