NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - No one likes to play the fool. But when it comes to your money, it's all too easy to get duped if you're not paying attention.

Now, we're not talking about outright financial scams -- although there are plenty of those to guard against. Rather, it's the kind of stuff that you don't think about or bother to question in the course of the mayhem that is your life.

Whether you're paying taxes, changing jobs, taking your credit card out for its daily constitutional or just trying to get a handle on your debt, there are many ways for Uncle Sam, your company, your creditors and your mortgage lender to siphon money out of your pocket before you know what hit you.

Here are five common money minefields to avoid.

Don't fall for plastic tricks. You may be a sucker for convenience, but don't be suckered in by rotten rates. When you take a cash advance using your credit card, chances are good the interest rate you'll be charged is far higher than the already high rates assessed on your card purchases. And the kicker is, the interest usually starts to accrue immediately since there typically is no grace period with cash advances. To learn more about how credit card companies have gotten creative with their fees lately, click here.

Remember, your credit card is like a gun. It has triggers. As smart as it can be to transfer all your credit card balances to one card with a low interest rate, read the fine print. Often the low rate is an introductory teaser rate that's only in effect for a short period of time; after that, interest charges may skyrocket. So don't put more on the card than you can afford to pay off during the low-rate period. For more strategies on paying down your credit card debt, click here. And if you want to see how long it will take you to pay off your credit card debt, use our debt-reduction planner.

Do-overs can be costly. With interest rates as low as they are, home refinancing has been all the rage in the past year. If you're thinking about refinancing your home before mortgage rates head north, do the math. Lower monthly payments may be tempting, but if your goal is to save money in the long run and you plan to stay in your house for many years, don't refinance for a term longer than the one you have left on your existing mortgage.

In other words, if you bought your home with a 30-year loan and you've owned your home for five years you have 25 years left on your mortgage. Refinancing to another 30-year term would effectively stretch your mortgage out over 35 years, costing you an extra five years of interest payments.

Such an arrangement might make sense only if you're able to refinance to a significantly lower interest rate -- at least 1.5 percentage points less -- than what you've currently got and if you plan to sell the house well before your refinanced mortgage is paid. Otherwise, you'll end up paying more for your home than if you had kept your existing mortgage. (For other red flags on refinancing, click here.)

Don't take everything so literally. Even if you're granted an automatic extension to pay your taxes, don't think that means you can postpone paying what you owe. The IRS may give you extra time to file your return, but it won't give you extra time to pay up. In fact, if you've underpaid your taxes, interest and penalties will accrue on the amount you owe after 11:59 p.m. on April 15. Even if you don't know exactly what you owe, make a generous estimate and send that in. (For information on other 1040 mysteries, click here.)

There are three other ways to avoid unnecessary interest and late-payment penalties, said David Mellem of the National Association of Tax Practitioners: Double-check your math when you do file your return; sign the darn thing; and stick a stamp on the envelope when you mail it in. Sounds obvious, but many taxpayers fail to do so, Mellem said.

Run. Run like the wind. Just don't leave money on the table. You may be itching to ditch your job, but check the calendar first. Are you 10 minutes away from being fully vested in your 401(k) plan? A vesting schedule is the amount of time your employer requires you to be at the company in order to walk away with matching contributions. Any money you contribute to a 401(k) account is yours, of course. But vesting schedules vary.

Some companies vest employees gradually; for example, 25 percent of matching contributions may vest after the first year, another 25 percent in the second year, and so on. Others operate on a cliff plan; in a five-year cliff plan, for instance, you go from being 0 percent vested to 100 percent vested on your fifth anniversary. So, if you're close to a milestone, try not to bolt for the door just yet. For more on how to quit your job, but not your savings, click here.