Paying at least the minimum balance on each card every month, on time, is a requirement for maintaining a good credit rating and avoiding additional late fees that will add to your debt. If you can't make the minimum payments, use the tips in Parts 2 and 3, but remember that paying the minimums will not reduce debt. Instead, it helps to avoid late fees, which can add to overall debt. Don't make any new charges on your credit cards, especially on any higher interest accounts or accounts that are near or over your credit limit. If you have to, cut up cards so that you will not use them impulsively. Not adding to debt is just as important as paying debt off. A good tip is to practice just living on cash if possible. Attempt this for one full week to start. Assume that if you cannot afford something with cash, you cannot afford it at all. If you require records and receipts, it is okay to use one credit card and pay completely each billing period. Once you have created a budget that identifies savings to use for credit card payments, make sure you stick with it.  Sticking to cash is one of the best ways to avoid impulse purchases that could deter you from sticking to your budget. Your budget takes what cash you earn, and subtracts cash expenses. If you can commit to using cash only, every expense you have for the month should be covered by your incoming cash, which means there is no use for credit. If you find yourself out of cash, it means you were not sticking to your budget. Cutting up credit cards, as mentioned earlier, is an excellent solution to make sure you do not use them for impulse purchases. While closing credit cards can be a tempting option to prevent further usage, it can cause more harm then good.  One large aspect of your credit score is what is known as your "credit utilization", which refers to how much of your available credit that you use. By closing cards, you reduce your available credit, and thereby increase your overall credit utilization. This can harm your credit score, and make getting future loans more challenging. A better option is simply to cut up credit cards. In addition, having multiple types of credit (like mortgages, auto-loans, credit cards) improves your credit score. Therefore, by maintaining your credit cards, you are holding an additional type of credit. If you feel you cannot keep the card and not use it, cut it up. You may also want to look into how to improve your credit score.
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One-sentence summary -- Pay the minimum balances on time. Stop making charges. Follow your budget religiously. Avoid closing credit cards.


New teachers will find solace in scripting out a lesson. While this takes way more time than a lesson should, if it would help you, do it. It may ease your nerves if you know exactly what questions you want to ask and where you want the conversation to go. As you teach, do this less and less. Eventually, you'll be able to go in with practically nothing at all. You shouldn't be spending more time planning and writing out than you are delivering! Just use this as an initial training device. You've written out your timeline to the minute, right? Fantastic -- but know that's only really for reference. You're not going to say, "Kids! It's 1:15! STOP EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING." That's not really how teaching works. While you should try to stick to this plan within reason, you'll need to allow yourself some wiggle room. If you find yourself running over, know what you can and cannot scratch. What must you cover in order for the children to learn most? What is just fluff and time killers? On the other side of the coin -- if you have time left over, have another activity in your sleeve to pull out if need be. Knowing that you have plenty to do is a much better problem than not having enough. Even though you have a timeline, plan on the underside. If something might take 20 minutes, allow it 15. You never know what your students will just whiz through! The easiest thing to do is to come up with a quick concluding game or discussion. Throw the students together and have them discuss their opinions or ask questions. On the off chance something happens and you can't teach the lesson, you'll want to have a plan someone else could understand. The other side of this is if you write it in advance and forget, it'll be easier to jog your memory if it's clear. There are many templates you can find online -- or ask other teachers what format they use. If you stick to one it'll be better for your brain, too. The more consistencies, the better! In your teaching career, you're going to have days where students whiz through your plan and leave you dumbfounded. You'll also have days where tests got moved, half the class showed up, or the video you had planned got eaten by the DVD player. When this day rears its ugly head, you gotta have a back-up plan. Most veteran teachers have a handful of lesson plans under their belt that they can whip out at any time. If you had a particularly successful lesson on Punnett squares, keep that material for later. You can turn it into a different lesson with another class about evolution, natural selection, or genes depending on the next class' ability. Or you could have a lesson on Beyoncé up your sleeve (think the civil or women's rights movement, progression of pop music, or just a music lesson for a Friday afternoon). Whichever.
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One-sentence summary -- If you're nervous, script it out. Allow for wiggle room. Over-plan the class. Make it so a substitute could understand. Form a back-up plan.


Sometimes, the best way to prevent being annoyed is to get space from the person who is bothering you.  Walk a different route to your classes, take a different lunch break at work, or even reconfigure your office so that you do not have to face them if you are in neighboring cubicles.  If you work closely with the person, this might be a bit difficult, but you can set up more phone calls and emails rather than meeting in person frequently. Though you cannot change the person, you can alter your surroundings.  Perhaps the person who annoys you lives in your home or is someone you work with.  If you have your own room or your own office, you can simply close your door when you need some alone time or when you have something to work on that requires your full attention.  Exercise your right to privacy as much as possible and whenever you need it. One other way to monitor and limit your interactions is to make yourself unavailable so that they cannot approach you.  Put your headphones in, make a phone call, or put your purse or bookbag in the chair next to you so they can’t sit by you. If that is the only seat left, don’t be cruel.  Allow them to sit down and pull out a book so they know you are busy. Though you should steer away from gossip, if the person’s annoyance begins to escalate, tell a friend or give them a sign so they can create an excuse for both of you to walk away from the person. Don't make it obvious that you are trying to get away from the person, or they will think you are mean, especially if they do not intend to annoy you. Perhaps your sign is that you pat their shoulder or wink at them. Sometimes, the best way to keep yourself calm is to walk away.  If someone is annoying you in particular and you feel yourself on the verge of lashing out, step away, take a walk, go get a snack, or go to the restroom.  You will often find that once you return to the situation, you will be much calmer and less likely to respond negatively. For instance, if a coworker is bragging again about how much money his family has, knowing that you are going through a financial hardship, say “Excuse me for a moment,” and take a quick walk until you are calm.
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One-sentence summary --
Try to avoid the person when possible. Close your door. Make yourself unavailable. Back yourself up with a friend who knows about your situation. Step away from the situation.