There is a reason for the old adage, "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." The messes we can get ourselves into when trying to get out of something are often the stuff good jokes are made of.

It almost never fails, after one of my financial literacy workshops an audience member who has made many of the mistakes I suggest they avoid will say to me, "I heard that if I just... then I could avoid..." Whenever I hear the famous last words, "someone told me" or "I heard that if I..." I know a whopper is coming my way.

Most of us aren't strangers to urban myths, and usually they're so funny, strange or just plain outrageous that we wouldn't believe them anyway, but every now and again I'll come across someone who has not only believed one, but acted on some not-so-sage advice and gotten themselves in big money mess because of it.

When it comes to money matters, it's best to separate myth from fact before you separate with your hard earned cash, here are a few financially false urban legends that need to squashed.