Save Karyn

August 1, 2003
Bosnak is the owner of the now famous-or infamous-www.saveKaryn.com. She had the audacity to run up $20,000 in credit card debt, lose her job, and, instead of declaring bankruptcy, put up the first personal web site to solicit donations. Here she details her descent into debt and the bumpy road to debt freedom, shares intimate details of her personal finances, and describes the emails that she received (both compassionate and hateful), her guest appearances on NBC's Today and CNN, and a write-up in People magazine. Her strategies for cutting expenses are not generally innovative, but readers should enjoy her upbeat, folksy writing style. Kicking the dollars up a bit, Hunt ran up $100,000 in credit card debt in the early 1980s. Soon after, she became the founder and publisher of Cheapskate Monthly and the author of several money management books. Her latest identifies methods to strengthen a marriage, particularly a couple's financial position. Packed with real-life advice and examples, Hunt's book covers everything needed to manage money as a team, ways to live beneath your means, and how to reconcile different behaviors and beliefs about saving, giving, and managing finances. She writes in an organized, personal style, motivating readers and teaching them how to take charge of their income. Both books teach the importance of thrift through real-life mistakes; however, Hunt's guide is much more detailed and practical.-Susan C. Awe, Univ. of New Mexico Lib., Albuquerque

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2003
Bosnak is a young professional with big dreams and a taste for all things Gucci and Prada. When she lands a job as a producer for a new talk show, she packs up her bags and moves to New York, where she finds a not-so-cheap apartment in Manhattan. Surrounded by hip restaurants, enticed by high-end designer boutiques, and under the misconception that you should never be seen in the same outfit twice, Karyn lets her spending spiral out of control. She owes $25,000 when she loses her job. Unwilling to phone home for help, Karyn takes the advice of a friend and creates a want ad for money. The twist--she posts her ad on the Internet. With the help of good-hearted strangers, debt consolidation, and the selling of her possessions on eBay, Karyn pulls herself out of debt. Since the story is told with self-deprecating humor and charm, Karyn's naivete and lame excuses for overspending are palatable, becoming a cautionary tale of the dangers of credit cards and the power of pride over Prada.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

July 7, 2003
After moving to New York from Chicago for a lucrative position at a new television court show, Bosnak digs herself into a more than $20,000 hole in less than a year. With stars in her eyes, she blindly plunks down $778 on lingerie here and $387 on a cut and color there. She justifies her frivolity as "emergencies" and "investments" in herself. "I was twenty-seven years old and I wasn't going to be a spring chicken much longer. So I needed these nighties to look as sexy as I could because I needed to land a man. So they were kind of like an investment. An investment in my sex life and an investment in my future." Unable to pay her bills while employed, Bosnak's luck takes a turn for the worse when the court show is canceled. She is able to land a job at yet another TV show, but that, too, doesn't last long. When her financial situation is truly desperate, she posts a "help-needed" message on craigslist.org (an interactive classifieds page). When the site administrators remove her posting, Bosnak decides to set up her own Web site: www. savekaryn.com. With financial contributions from strangers, sales from eBay and donations of all kinds, she's able to pay all her bills in five short months. Each chapter opens with a spread of her credit card statements, outlining her month's purchases. This detail would be sufficient, but this self-absorbed book is filled with the overwhelming minutiae of Bosnak's shallow extravagance, making it hard to empathize with her during tough times or celebrate her escape from debt.