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I try to take advantage of promotional credit card offers as much as possible.

When big bonuses come around, I apply. When great cash back reward programs are offered, I’m immediately figuring out how much money I can save by using a new card instead of an old one.

But sometimes all these new credit cards and their spending requirements can get me into a bit of a bind. One of those binds happened last month.

In February, I signed up for a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. It offered 100,000 bonus points if I spent $4,000 in the first 4 months of account ownership. Well, my spending on that card was awfully light for the first few months. I’m not a heavy traveler, anyway. And I was grounded for a few months after the birth of my second child.

The scene was a sidewalk café on Chicago’s northwest side, one summery evening around 2006. I’d been joined for dinner by a couple of friends, Grant and Kate, and between bites of chicken Vesuvio — or was it a chopped salad? — was enjoying the witty, intelligent repartee of my two companions.

There was a lull in the conversation, and then Kate turned to Grant, the only renter among the three of us. “So, when are you going to join us among the ranks of homeowners?” she asked, in a tone of innocent inquisitiveness.

I expected Grant to offer a timetable for a home purchase. But he instead responded as if Kate had impugned his ethnicity or scorned his mother’s good name. It was clear he was very sensitive about his renter status.

The most sound financial advice you’ll ever read is also the most basic: Spend less than you make.

Sure, a successful financial life is a bit more complicated than that. After all, you have to decide just how to make that extra money work for you. But it all starts with this basic principle. If your outlay is greater than your income each month, you’ll dig yourself into an impossible financial hole. But if you’re spending even $10 less than you make each month, you’ve got a place to start for saving, investing, and becoming financially free.

But there’s another saying that applies here: There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

In other words, there’s more than one way to do what you need to get done. In the case of staying out of the red each month, you’ve got two options: spend less money or earn more money.

It’s the ultimate catch-22: in order to get a job after graduation, you’ll need experience. In order to get experience? Well, you need a job.

The solution for many students is to look for intern experience, which can be made to fit in around a demanding college schedule. This might mean working through summer or winter breaks, even for several years. But it’s definitely worth it in the end, to gain the variety of exposure needed in a competitive job market… right?

Employers do demand that graduate applicants have more on their resume than a strong GPA, but the truth is, not all internships are made equal. You have to be clear on what experience you will get from the work being offered. Especially when it comes to internships that don’t offer any remuneration, check the small print very closely.