When I lived in Indianapolis, I had a short stint as an executive assistant, and my desk and computer were out in the reception area. I locked up all my belongings at night, but never thought to password protect my computer. Suddenly, I began getting pop-ups for gambling and pornography sites, and my history was full of questionable content. Turns out the cleaning staff was using my computer in the evenings.

This situation created a hostile work environment between me and the night staff, and it could have escalated even further if my coworkers would have seen the pop-ups and thought I was the who initiated the content.

SurfRecon ERT (Emergey Response Tool) could have detected the pornography far before I did and reported it to the appropriate person in IT or HR, saving me of any embarassment of having to explain the situation. The software allows suspect computers to be scanned and monitored without exposing the actual pornographic content being viewed.

Luckily, IT was able to purge my computer of all the unsavory content and HR was able to address the problem with the night staff, and my computer was never misused again!

Payday obviously doesn’t mean payday for us. It means payday for everyone we owe money to.

• $50 Petco
• $60 gas (4 fill-ups)
• $376 car payment
• $125 Sprint (both phones)
• $103 NIPSCO
• $19 Capital One (yearly fee on husband’s card)
• $165 State Farm (renters insurance)
• $25 Ball State University alumni plates
• $327 Banana Republic
• $23 Target
• $11 TJ Maxx
• $5 Post Office
• $8 Wendy’s
• $100 ING

In these tough economic times, some people think that filing bankruptcy is the only way to reconcile their debts and find a solution to their money problems, but there are lots of things to consider before you file bankruptcy.

New bankruptcy laws make filing chapter 7 bankruptcy, as opposed to chapter 13 bankruptcy, more difficult. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the preferred filing for debtors because it completely alleviates them of all debts, while chapter 13 bankruptcy involves repaying debts over the course of several years.

Under the new laws, eligibility for chapter 7 bankruptcy depends on if your income is more or less than the median income of your state. If your income is lower than the median, you may qualify for chapter 7, but if it more than the median, you must file chapter 13 and repay your debts.

To me, that’s a completely legitimate measure, because bankruptcy should be a last resort, when instead it has become an easy out for a lot of people.

Have you filed bankruptcy? What type have you filed? Considered filing bankruptcy? Think that the new laws are reasonable or roadblocks? Weigh in!

I highly recommend Lightship Research. I was the CTO of a division of a Fortune 500 company and got laid off when the division was sold to another company. I had not looked for a job in 15 years and I didn’t even have a resume. I signed up and in 4 days I had a resume and a target list of companies that we were going to attack. Even though these guys knew how to market me and take care of all the technical aspects of the search, the biggest value to me was guiding me through the process and giving me support all along the way. I got a job in 5 weeks. I think they were glad to get rid of me, I hounded them with questions every day and they were always there to answer them, even on weekends.

- T. Klineman, NY

That testimonial will catch your attention! A new job in 5 weeks? In this economy? That’s what Lightship Research specializes in. Known as “Reverse Headhunters,” they provide job seekers with the tools they need to target the decision makers at companies everywhere so that their resumes aren’t getting lost in the shuffle. Their services offer a distinct competitive advantage to their clients.

The Give & Get Sale for 30% off at GAP, Banana Republic, Old Navy and the factory outlets runs March 12-15th and I have a coupon if anyone is interested! Just leave your email address in the comments and I will forward you the coupon before the sale begins.

5% of all sales go to various charities, the World Wildlife Fund being my choice. Feel free to Stumble or Twitter this post!

In paying down our debt, we’ve used balance transfer to our advantage, moving our outstanding balances from high interest credit cards to lower interest credit cards, taking advantage of 0% balance transfer offers and cash back in the process.

If you’re looking to get a handle on your credit, DealsForCreditCards.com is a great place to find information on the credit cards and rewards available. The site provides all the information you need to compare credit card offers and choose the one that’s right for you and your situation. You can even calculate your balance transfer savings, which makes it all worth wild!

• $1,121 rent

Paying rent never used to bother me because I thought the tradeoff was sufficient to justify the cost. Then Mike told me that he read that a $1,000 rent is equivalent to the mortgage on a $200,000 house. Now, I just want to get out of our apartment as quick as I can.