You might not agree with her method of trying to clear the debt
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I don't know whether "car crash reading" is actually a phrase but it's what immediately sprung to mind as I was reading "Save Karyn". At times I really didn't want to turn the pages, but some morbid curiosity made me want to carry on. The book tells the true story of Karyn Bosnak, a self-confessed shopaholic who cannot stop spending. Even when she knows she shouldn't, somehow another $200 here and $300 there just doesn't seem like that much money and before she knows it, she owes almost $25,000 on various credit cards and store cards.
I found myself reading through squinted eyes, not really wanting to read the words as she spends hundreds of dollars on hair cuts, bikini waxes and of course, clothes. With each purchase comes Karyn's justification. She joins a gym and just has to get new workout clothes, she's trying to impress a man in her life and so new lingerie is a necessity - at $778 it's expensive but lingerie doesn't really date so she'll keep it a long time and get her money's worth. Her furniture is delayed during her move from Chicago to New York and she just can't bear sleeping on the floor any longer. So a new bed it is.
Everything that Karyn spends her money on, she sees as an investment. Make up and beauty products are an investment in her looks and fancy clothes and designer accessories are investments in her wellbeing. She honestly believes that she cannot be happy without these things.
But the credit cards can only take so much of this "investment" and they soon reach their limits. Karyn falls behind with the rent and trying to stay afloat in a never-ending sea of debt becomes a daily nightmare. And then a stroke of genius. She suddenly realises that it would only take 20000 people to give her a dollar and the debt would be clear. But how could she convince 20000 people to do that? By setting up a website. So that's exactly what she does. The question is, will it work?
Everybody will have their own views on the morality of doing this as she effectively turned to begging on a worldwide scale. But I think that one of the successes of this book is the fact Karyn comes across as a very likeable person and although the debt is completely of her own doing - you see the credit card statements and the rising debt at the beginning of each chapter - I actually found myself wanting the website idea to work. The humorous style of writing makes the reader warm to Karyn. Her crazy ways of delaying the debt such as her Buy and Return Credit Payment Management Plan or justifying spending $160 on a pair of sandals because if she walks to work in them every day for a month, she'll save $60 on bus fare so that's like getting the sandals for only $100, can't help but raise a smile. And her responses to some of the emails she receives after setting up the website are very funny.
I genuinely believe that she didn't have any idea of the true mess she was really in until it was too late. After all, she was in a well paid job, working in television and on a 6 figure salary. She really thought that she could handle the debt and pay it back, until it swamped her.
There is also a poignant moment in the book as this all was happening in 2000 and 2001 and the story crosses September 2001. Events that happened in the world at that time are touched upon as she realises it's not the Prada purses or Gucci sunglasses that are important. The terrorist attack also had personal consequences for Karyn as the light hearted TV shows that she was involved in producing suddenly weren't being watched as people tuned into the news instead. Makeovers and chat shows didn't matter in the States, and especially New York. Before she knew it, the debt was spiralling and her job was now under threat.
Karyn achieved worldwide infamy through her genius website but at the same time she opened herself up to all kinds of criticism and downright nastiness. One radio interview she did was mortifying for her - again, more car crash reading. And by the end of the book we see that she is humbled by the generosity of complete strangers and by the thought of having to explain what she had done to her mum and dad.
An absolute must read for any shopaholics out there who bash their credit cards on a regular basis or for those who never use credit cards as this will remind you why you stay well clear. A 21st century tale about the grip of the buy now, pay later syndrome and a warning to everyone.
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