|
Getting a grip on credit card spending
Dear Dollar Diva,
Are there groups that help credit card abusers in the way Alcoholics
Anonymous helps alcohol abusers? I need help!
Michael
Dear Michael,
Debtors
Anonymous is the organization you're looking for. It's a 12-step
program fashioned after Alcoholics Anonymous, and its mission is
to help compulsive debtors get back on track and stay there.
A 12-step program treats compulsive behavior as a
disease, not a character defect, and the recovery process depends
heavily upon the fellowship and support participants give to each
other. DA members work hard to get themselves solvent and to assist
other debtors achieve solvency.
It isn't unusual for compulsive spenders to ask the
Diva for a Money
Makeover; their financial lives can get pretty nasty. They're
always exceptionally nice people who hate being in debt, but don't
know how to stop spending. The Diva helps them with their financial
issues, and recommends Debtors Anonymous to get their spending under
control. Here are a few Money Makeovers participants who fall into
that category:
- Maureen
Kinsey: A 30-year-old marketing assistant and admitted shopoholic;
she feels sick with guilt when she charges things. Her shopping
habit has her spending $830 more a month than she earns. Individual
psychological counseling didn't work for her; maybe a 12-step
program would.
- Jo
Ann Hudson: A 25-year-old credit card abuser; she works eight
hours, sleeps eight hours and spends the rest of her time shopping.
She started going to DA meetings during the course of the Money
Makeover and liked them.
- Hilda
Ross: A 48-year-old debt junkie; her compulsion to spend is
so strong it's like wrestling with the devil every time she walks
into a department store. She hasn't gone to a DA meeting yet,
but is thinking about it.
Folks struggling with compulsive spending tend to
experience a similar, fierce magnetic pull when their spending switch
is on. When the pull defies willpower and resolve, they need to
seek help to get it under control. Debtors Anonymous has helped
many people kick their compulsive spending habit, and is worth looking
into. If DA doesn't work for you, keep searching until you find
a program that does.
-- Posted: Jan. 31, 2002
 DOROTHY
ROSEN has a master's degree in finance, with a specialization in
accounting, from the Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University
in Evanston, Ill. Rosen has more than 15 years of experience in
the financial arena, serving in Illinois and Florida as a certified
public accountant, financial consultant, expert witness and educator.
She is owner of Dorothy Rosen, CPA, a public accounting firm that
serves individuals and small businesses.
|
