#75: Paying Down Debt & Perspective on the Past?

Welcome back!

Well, nothing life-changing happened to me this week, so:

1) We’re back to the sorts of full editions you know and love,

and

2) I don’t have anything new to talk about in this intro.

So let’s just jump right in, yeah?

💍 How We’re Keeping You ENGAGED This Week:

Elevating Your Brand 🤝 

• Boost Those Networking Skills with All-New Convo Starters

• A Food For Thought With Perspective on Your Past

Fattening The Wallet 💰️ 

• Making Sense Cents of 2 Ways to Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Boosting Your Productivity 📊 

• Advice from Mark Cuban and Hope Horner in Hustle Hub

• Dealing With Un-Cool Communicators at Work

Making Cents 💰️ 

The Debt Avalanche Method vs The Debt Snowball Method 

Short and Sweet: Managing your credit card debt can feel like an uphill battle, especially with summer in full effect. That’s why breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps can help you conquer it.

Today, we’re diving into two strategies to help with that conquering: The Debt Avalanche and Debt Snowball methods.

Why It Matters: Because both methods can help you get out of debt, but each method has its different pros and cons. Choosing the right one for you could make all the difference.

Breaking Down: The Debt Avalanche Method 🏔⛷

• Highest Interest Cards First: If you have multiple credit cards, order your CCs from the highest interest rate to the lowest. Make the minimum payment on each of your credit cards and any extra income you have goes towards the highest-interest card.

• Doing it this way, your highest-interest card will be paid off first and you won’t have to worry about that monthly payment any more. Once paid off, move onto the next high-interest card you have until all are paid off.

Breaking Down: The Debt Snowball Method ❄️🏐 

1. Lowest Payments to the Highest: With this method, you prioritize your debts from the lowest balance to the highest. You make the minimum payments on each of your credit card balances and any extra income goes to the credit card with the smallest balance.

2. Feel Wins Faster: Yes, you get rid of a CC with a smaller balance first, which can feel like an accomplishment. However, your interest can add up on your larger balances where you could pay more in interest over long-term.

Here’s a visual from The Penny Hoarder that puts both methods side-by-side:

Hustle Hub 📈 

• YOUR SUCCESS: We all benefit from the advice of those that came before us - here are some gems from a recent WSJ podcast featuring Mark Cuban.

• THEIR SUCCESS: Entrepreneur Hope Horner shares 5 turning points from her business journey.

• YOUR SUCCESS: Here are 10 characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. How many do you possess?

Cool Communicator 💯 

HOW TO HANDLE A CO-WORKER WITH A COMMUNICATION PROBLEM

This article, courtesy of a New York Times mailbag question, focuses on how to address a co-worker whose communication style is confusing, vague, strange, etc.

TL;DR Sub-Wall Takeaways (a NYT account is free, but if you don’t want to create one, here you go):

1. Poor communicators often don’t know they’re poor communicators, especially in this age of increased digital interaction.
   

2. If you have a strong enough relationship with the colleague, bluntly addressing the issue with them is a fine option.
   

3. If you don’t have a strong relationship with them, “honest levity” might be a way to go. You are clearly addressing the issue, but in a half-joking, light-hearted way. Using emojis, LOLs, etc. at the end of your message can help you achieve the tone you want when communicating digitally.
   

4. (This goes without saying, but if the communication problem is an issue that Human Resources should be handling, sit this one out!)

O.T.F
O.F.T: One Final Thought

Addressing interoffice issues can be difficult, especially when it comes to things that tie directly to someone’s personality (like communication style / social skills).

Any number of approaches can work, but it is imperative that your method is appropriate based on your relationship with the co-worker and any number of other factors (are you addressing it privately or in front of other people? Are they the sort of person that handles criticism well? Etc.).

Choosing the wrong method can create a tension that’ll put a real damper on those days at the office. So think it through before you speak!

Convo Starters 👀 

• Self-Interest: Talk about whether or not you agree that people should “beware self-improvement.”

• Human Interest: Talk about “how little $1M in retirement savings would last in each US State.”

• Artificial Interest: Talk about the humanoid robots that made quite the impression at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

Food For Thought 💭 

Before You Go

We hope you enjoyed this week’s edition. We always strive to put our readers first and care deeply about your feedback, so if you have any suggestions, please drop us a line at [email protected].

Next week, we’ll be back with a new AI-tool tutorial, a Search Bar, and a 2-Do fit for the heart of summer.

See you then!

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