Money Troubles Part II

This is a continuation of Monday’s post when Sue shared that her biggest accomplishment since her divorce is the transformation of her relationship with money. If you haven’t listened to the first part of Sue’s story, check it out and then come back to part two.

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Divorce didn’t cause Sue’s financial problems but without the support of her spouse, it did mean she had to confront them. She got to the point where she couldn’t avoid dealing with them any longer.

I said on Monday I was surprised when Sue told me she’d been through bankruptcy and I wanted to say more about that. I met Sue through her business and I’ve used her services. She is always very professional and very competent – she knows what she’s talking about. I also knew that she had a stable job at high tech company. Somehow, she just didn’t fit my mental image of someone who goes through bankruptcy. I’ve been thinking about that – I was disturbed to realize I carried such a stereotype in my head. I think I subconsciously pictured a person who couldn’t get stable employment or someone who had had a significant medical problem which wasn’t covered by insurance. Talking to Sue made me realize this. Certainly, with our current economic crisis many more people are going to face bankruptcy due to forces much bigger than any individual and if there was a typical profile for bankruptcy, it is changing.

Sue also said she is now much more comfortable talking about money, especially with her women friends. “It’s so taboo,” she said. “We are more comfortable in our society talking about sex than money which is weird.”

I think I’ve only met a couple of other people who have been through bankruptcy – maybe I’ve met more and just don’t know it – but to Sue’s point, she’s the only person who has ever talked openly about it. And maybe that too is why I was surprised. Thank you, Sue for being so honest and open. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishment.

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Sue credits the book, “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin, Joe Dominquez and Monique Tilford, with helping her to turn her life around. The latest edition was just published in December. Here’s a link to their website and to Amazon – sounds like a great resource.

Update: Read my review of Your Money or Your Life.