Money rules you should break

Many “money rules” no longer result in higher savings or less debt. That’s because the economic recovery has opened up more exceptions and loopholes to standard advice. For example, usually it isn’t recommended to take a loan from a 401(k) — but this is now the cheapest way to borrow money. The rules for making and saving money are changing, at least temporarily, and there are some rules you want to break.

The old-school advice was to always convert a traditional IRA into a Roth to save on taxes, but now stick with the IRA. Since last year, tax payers are now able to convert from a traditional IRA regardless of income.

Today, you may also choose the mortgage with more interest payments, rather than the mortgage with the smallest interest payments as suggested in the past. With interest rates still low, consumers might want to make a down payment of 10% instead of throwing most of their money into the home — where some of it could be lost if home values decline.

Credit cards are also another thing to re-think. Use credit cards, but swipe with caution. Now, it seems that in order to hold on to a good credit score and access to credit cards in case of an emergency, borrowers need to make more purchases using them.

To read more about breaking traditional money rules, visit MSN.