Logan: Oh, do I feel for you. When I was nearing thirty, I surrendered my credit cards and de facto control of my finances to a friend - my Mike, if you will - and I am pretty sure that he owes most of his grey hair to me and to statements like, "I didn’t know how much these things cost, okay? But … I could have guessed." And that right there is what I would guess people are finding problematic with this piece. It sounds a bit... unrepentant, I guess. And I feel bad typing the word "unrepentant", because I know what kind of burning shame would settle in my chest when I had made a couple of really poor decisions and was heading for a shortfall, so I would make these glib jokes about it - especially when I had to ask my Mike for a loan.
Everyone else: Logan has been pretty upfront about the thought patterns and habits that got her into the situtation she's in now, and - take it from one who knows - much of that debt is owed to the cumulative weight of smaller, less sound decisions like this one. She could choose not to write about them, but that wouldn't be entirely honest, given that her ongoing efforts to become more financially stable are a prominent feature of the site.
Admitting to self-sabotage or magical thinking or willful ignorance or whatever isn't easy, and somewhere between, "I'll think about it tomorrow" and donning a hair shirt, there's a way to talk about it. Maybe this just wasn't it.
PS: 12 years later, I have both cards back, rarely carry a balance, and have savings and an RSP and everything. It can be done!
On You Really Can Rationalize Anything
Logan: Oh, do I feel for you. When I was nearing thirty, I surrendered my credit cards and de facto control of my finances to a friend - my Mike, if you will - and I am pretty sure that he owes most of his grey hair to me and to statements like, "I didn’t know how much these things cost, okay? But … I could have guessed." And that right there is what I would guess people are finding problematic with this piece. It sounds a bit... unrepentant, I guess. And I feel bad typing the word "unrepentant", because I know what kind of burning shame would settle in my chest when I had made a couple of really poor decisions and was heading for a shortfall, so I would make these glib jokes about it - especially when I had to ask my Mike for a loan. Everyone else: Logan has been pretty upfront about the thought patterns and habits that got her into the situtation she's in now, and - take it from one who knows - much of that debt is owed to the cumulative weight of smaller, less sound decisions like this one. She could choose not to write about them, but that wouldn't be entirely honest, given that her ongoing efforts to become more financially stable are a prominent feature of the site. Admitting to self-sabotage or magical thinking or willful ignorance or whatever isn't easy, and somewhere between, "I'll think about it tomorrow" and donning a hair shirt, there's a way to talk about it. Maybe this just wasn't it. PS: 12 years later, I have both cards back, rarely carry a balance, and have savings and an RSP and everything. It can be done!