Show respect for your coworker by keeping your lips sealed regarding their condition. If their diagnosis is not common knowledge in your workplace, keep what you know to yourself. You should keep your communications work-related.  Your coworker may not want others to stigmatize or pity them. Respect their privacy and avoid discussing their diagnosis with others in the workplace—unless the other person is already privy to the information. If you do discuss it with someone who is aware, be sure the conversation is constructive, not simply to gossip. If knowledge about their condition is a part of your work duties, you could get in trouble for breaking confidentiality. Even if you are not bound by confidentiality, you should still be wary of discussing your coworker's condition, as doing so could damage your work relationship with the person and your reputation. If, however, your coworker’s condition is impacting your ability to do your job or if you think they may be a danger to themselves or someone else, speaking with a supervisor is appropriate. Mental illnesses are very complex. Never diagnose someone yourself or assume they have bipolar disorder. You should also never accuse someone of being bipolar or mentally ill. Reflect on your co-worker’s typical behavior. What kinds of things do they do that you cannot tolerate? Make a list, then come up with suitable limits for everything on your list.  For example, maybe your coworker calls you late at night about work business. You will need to tell them this is not appropriate. If someone keeps coming to you with personal problems, you may want to establish boundaries there as well. Suggest your company's EAP program as a way for the person to talk through personal issues. Once you open the door for colleagues to process personal issues, it may be difficult to pull back. When sharing your boundaries, be consistent. Rather than making your bipolar coworker feel singled-out, voice your boundaries with everyone. Make no exceptions.  You might say to the larger office personnel, "Someone has been using my office supplies without asking. Please do not go into my desk without permission." If your boundary applies only to the bipolar coworker, there's no need to make a public announcement. Simply speak with the person about the issue privately. You may need to vocalize your boundaries over and over again for them to sink in with a bipolar coworker. Reiterate your limits whenever you need to. You may feel like you're overdoing it, but repetition may be the only way for your coworker to fully respect your boundaries. If, despite verbalizing your boundaries, your coworker continues to cross lines, you must take action. Be sure to tell them what line was crossed and what consequence will be put in place.  You might say directly to your coworker, "If you go in my drawer again without my permission, I will report you." Another consequence might be putting a lock on the drawer. If, during a meeting, your coworker repeatedly interrupts you, you might ask them to leave. The person may get angry about your boundaries initially, but you should hold fast anyway. Being firm and consistent is the only way they will start to respect your limits. Reinforcing boundaries can be done one-on-one in private with your coworker.

Summary: Refrain from casually sharing their diagnosis with others. Decide what you cannot tolerate. Verbalize your  boundaries throughout the workplace. Repeat your limits as necessary. Enforce consequences if boundary violations occur.


If you're using a credit card or taking out a mortgage on a home, you may need to use more money than you currently have. If you're given credit, the lenders who give you that credit expect you to pay the premium back, in addition to a finance charge for the luxury of being given money. This finance charge is called APR. The following graph should help you compare different APRs. Use this information as a guidepost when shopping for a mortgage. However, you should always use an online APR calculator to check your exact APR before signing on a loan. The directions to do so follow this graph. Note how,in most cases, the APR is almost identical to the interest rate, but changes depending on the amount of finance charges. This difference is why you must compare APR when shopping for a loan.  APR For Different Loans and How it Affects Total Cost    Total Loan Interest Finance Charges APR Total Amount Paid    $100,000    3.50%       $1,000       3.5804%       $163,272.65     $100,000    3.75%       $1,500       3.8720%       $169,222.44     $100,000    4.00%       $5,000       4.4089%       $180,462.98     $100,000    5.00%       $10,000       5.8612%       $212,581.36 APR is the annual rate you pay on credit or loans. For example, if you take a $1,000 loan, and your APR is 10%, at the end of the year you'll owe $100 (10%) of your $1,000 premium. If you want to know the monthly periodic rate, just divide your APR by twelve, 10%12=.83%{\displaystyle {\frac {10\%}{12}}=.83\%}, to find out what your APR is for every month. You can also divide it by 365 to find you daily APR. Different banks will calculate APR over different times, and this affects how much they charge you. Note how a yearly APR is higher than monthly or daily, but is ultimately cheaper:  Monthly, Yearly, and Daily APR and the Effect on Total Cost for a $100,000 Loan    Compound Type Interest Finance Charges APR Total Amount Paid     Yearly    4.00%       $5,000       8.1021%       $110,412.17      Monthly    4.00%       $5,000       7.8888%        	$110,512.24      Daily    4.00%       $5,000       7.8704%       $110,521.28 APR comes in three flavors. There's fixed, variable, and tiered. This simply means that the interest rate you pay can be changed depending on your current debts or the bank's whims. As such, fixed are usually the safest bets, since you will always know what you're paying.   Fixed APRs remain constant for the life of the loan or the credit card.    Variable APRs can fluctuate daily, leaving the debtor in the dark about how much interest she's paying. Be very careful with variable APR.   Tiered APRs depend on what tier the debt falls into, raising and lowering depending on your current debt. For example, your APR might be 4% for debts below $1,000, but raise to 7% if you cross $1,000. That's not an insignificant sum, especially if you're unable to pay off the principal quickly. Average fixed rates hover slightly below 14%, while average variable rates hover slightly above 14%. If you spend $500 on your credit card but pay off the entire balance by the due date, APR is not calculated on your money. To avoid paying interest and to better your overall FICO credit score, make monthly payments on time and in full.
Summary: Understand that it costs money to borrow money. Compare different APRs based on the total loan, interest, and finance charges. Know that APR can be broken down into monthly or daily interest payments. Know the three types of APR. Understand that the average APR is about 14%. Know that you will not be charged APR if you pay off your monthly credit card balance in full.