Oprah's On: Town Hall Meeting: Imus Controversy: Now What?

[Marie]

Originally posted by gamma_girl52
I could actually see how they could.

I didn't watch the show, but I just read about them on their site. Sometimes we get too caught up in image and what we want other people to PERCIEVE what we are. And I think that's what happened with them. There are a lot of people out there who LOOK like they have it all under control when the reality is, they are literally living from check to check. Sometimes, we're just trying to "keep up with the joneses" when it's just making the situation worse. No she doesn't necessarily NEED 5 cars or getting her hair done every week, but she might have wanted people to think that she had it like that.

I know I was like that with debt. I didn't tell my family or friends when I was struggling--they only found out about it when it got out of control and I REALLY needed some help. I didn't want people to know that I was doing badly, and I wanted to try to resolve the situation on my own--but by that time, things had gotten too bad! One of my goals this year is to start living more responsibly when it comes to money. I'm not very good at managing money sometimes, but I know I don't want to keep living my life like that. I'm looking for another apartment and getting a car real soon. I want to keep both! So I know that I'm going to have to take a real hard look at my spending, and just live on what I NEED more as opposed to what I WANT. All those expensive things don't mean much if it's sittin out on a curb someplace.

Sorry it got so long but it really hit home for me, and what I'm trying to do personally.

I guess when I say denial, I was referring to the fact that she said that she'd just max her credit cards out and never pay on them once or just throw her bills in the garbage w/o even opening them. I can see someone getting carried away or going overboard w/their spending. I can also see them hiding their situation from friends/family. However, to just ignore/deny the problems to yourself like they don't exist or will go away is just beyond me.