In Debt…Again? How to Break the Borrowing Cycle

By Credit.com

You hate debt.

You got out of debt once and vowed you’d never let it happen again. But here you are – stuck in debt again.

It’s not fair! How did it happen so quickly?

And what can you do to create a permanent debt solution so that you never repeat the pattern again?

The Permanent Debt Solution

Defining the source of your debt problem is critical to solving it.

You believe your debt is a financial problem, but it’s actually a personal problem masquerading as a financial one. That’s why a permanent debt solution eludes you.

Treating debt as if it were a financial problem is similar to trying to cure the flu by blowing your nose. You relieve an obvious symptom but don’t address the underlying cause.

When you don’t address the cause, you don’t get better.

In other words, debt is often just a symptom of a much larger problem: an addiction to an unsupportable self-image and lifestyle that results in overspending.

Until you address the real problem, the symptom will recur, which may explain why you are in debt again.

What that means is debt’s real cause is often personal life habits and attitudes that result in overspending.

The rule is simple – you must spend less than you earn. There’s no way around it.

However, teaching a chronic debtor to spend less and earn more is like telling an overweight person to lose weight by eating less and exercising more.

Everyone already knows what to do. The difficult part is actually getting it done.

How to Slay the Debt Monster

Sure, you want to get out of debt as fast as possible, but superficial financial solutions result in repeat offenders.

Using debt consolidation, or transferring balances to a HELOC or a 0% credit card, or selling assets such as a house, boat or car does not address the root cause of the problem.
You are trying to relieve the symptom by looking only at financial issues.

Instead, what you must first do is figure out what is causing your debt.

What are all the ways you spend more than you earn? But there are ways to identify these habits and change them.

The permanent cure is to plug all the habitual ways you leak money so that you never go into debt again. This isn’t sexy, but it permanently solves the problem.


You must persist in plugging these leaks until you are spending less than you earn.

It may take you months (or years) to achieve this objective.

That’s OK.

Read the full article online. 

10 Tips to Turning Your Internship Into a Full-Time Gig

“10 Tips to Turning Your Internship Into a Full-Time Gig” was provided by POPSUGAR Smart Living.

For a lot of us, graduating from college was the easy part — it was finding a job afterward that made us wish we could start freshman year all over again.

This stage of life is an unfortunate time that every postgraduate must endure.

If you weren’t given a trust fund or poached by recruiters, then you know this “rite of passage” all too well.

Searching the web for hours on end, connecting on LinkedIn, and completing countless applications without any response becomes your daily routine.

I went through the same experience after I graduated college.

Even with four internships under my belt, I had no idea just how competitive the job market was.

I realized that the best way to get my foot in the door was to expand my search. I started looking for internships (that would accept recent graduates) with the hope it could lead to a job offer.

Lucky for me, it did!

Here are 10 tips on how to turn your internship into a job:

Make friends

It’s tough to be new in the office, especially if you’re an intern.

That’s why it’s so important to put yourself out there and get to know your co-workers.
Take an extra trip to the water cooler or bathroom — the more people you meet in these communal spaces, the better.

Here are some conversation starters!

Another great way to mingle with new co-workers is to join in on any company events.
Go to happy hours, game nights, and other office get-togethers to show your fun side.

Be professional

Just because you are one of the youngest in the office doesn’t mean you have to act that way.

Stay professional, and show that you are mature.


You can still crack jokes and have fun; just avoid talking about partying with your friends every weekend.

If your co-workers view you as responsible, then they will trust you with more projects.

Ask the right questions

After you receive an assignment, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if the directions are unclear.

You want to avoid completing a task incorrectly because you were too nervous to ask questions.

However, try not to bother your manager with tons of obvious questions if the answer can be found on the Internet or an office training manual.

You don’t want them to regret giving you the project when they could have done it themselves in the first place.

Read the full article online...