Freelance Finance

An innocent freelancer decides to confront her mounting debt. And she writes about it in the “pages” of a well-known online magazine. What happens? In two days, Sarah Hepola’s article on Salon racks up 195 comments, mostly from very angry people who, among other things, mock her for having lower debt than they do, for getting a loan from a parent, for not being able to make her minimum payment, etc. Instead of celebrating someone’s desire to sever herself from the credit card teat, all we can do is harangue. To me, it’s fascinating because it confirms what I have long suspected: that personal finance is the last taboo in this nation. One cannot talk about one’s finances openly because readers and listeners will always compare it to their own situation and decide you are not worthy of sympathy. But with a negative savings rate becoming the norm, few Americans can claim to be financial geniuses. Give the woman a break.

See her story here: “My big, fat, unpaid credit card bill”