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(MONEY Magazine) – -- Tip of the month: Credit unions have paid higher yields on money-market accounts than have banks or savings and loans this year, according to the newsletter Bank Rate Monitor.

-- Call 800-542-5421, ext. 4155, to order Shearson Lehman Hutton's two free investment slide rules. One helps you calculate whether you would net more with municipal or taxable bonds, given your state's tax rates and your federal bracket. The other figures how much you must invest for zero-coupon Treasuries of varying maturities. Expect to get a follow-up call from a Shearson broker.

-- Don't sign up for a credit card just because the issuer will donate part of your charges to a charity, advises Jeanne Hogarth, a consumer economist at Cornell. Typically, the charity receives only 0.5% of your tab, and you cannot write off that gift on your tax return.

-- If you have paid off a Federal Housing Administration-insured loan, you may be entitled to a refund of some of the premiums because of FHA accounting rules. To find out, call the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 202-755-5616 or write to HUD, P.O Box 23699, Washington, D.C. 20026.