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454th out of 538 books
—
81 voters
Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back
by
Karyn Bosnak (Goodreads Author)
Drowning in $20,000 of credit card debt, shopaholic Karyn Bosnak asked strangers for money online -- and it worked!
What would you do if you owed $20,000? Would you: A) not tell your parents? B) start your own website that asked for money without apology? or C) stop coloring your hair, getting pedicures, and buying Gucci? If you were Karyn Bosnak, you'd do all three.
Karyn s...more
What would you do if you owed $20,000? Would you: A) not tell your parents? B) start your own website that asked for money without apology? or C) stop coloring your hair, getting pedicures, and buying Gucci? If you were Karyn Bosnak, you'd do all three.
Karyn s...more
Paperback, 441 pages
Published
September 2nd 2003
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 2002)
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I had a hard time with this one. The premises is that the author moves to NYC from Chicago, runs up 20 grand in credit card debt, and then creates a website (savekaryn) asking for donations to help her pay it. In the end, she did get about $13,000 from random people who sent her money. She also starts selling some of her things on ebay, and contributes her own money as well. She found herself between a rock and a hard place when she lost her job as a producer after 9/11, and from what it sounds...more
This was a fairly good memoir, straightforward and honest. It was interesting to read how Karyn convinced the world to send her money to pay off her bills. However, the story as to how she got in so much debt almost made me hate her, because she was such an idiot. "I'll cut up my credit cards and keep just one for emergencies...omg I have a date and nothing to wear, this is an emergency and I must charge a $200 outfit!" I wanted to grab this woman by the shoulders and shake her. I hope she has...more
This book wan't terrible or great. I picked it up mostly because I was curious as to what kind of person would have the balls to ask strangers to pay off her debt accumulated by buying crap she didn't need and couldn't afford. Basically, her spending habits were enough to make me nervous just reading about them. The writing was very basic, not all that funny, and she used "anywho" a few too many times for my taste. It was interesting and I do like memoirs, so I don't regret having read it.
1 like · like · see review
Debt...we all have but most of us want to hide it. Not Karyn! In this great memoir, Karyn details how she acquired debt and ultimately, how she beats the debt. In the beginning, Karyn was simply trying to live the life of a New Yorker ala Carrie Bradshaw. But what the show failed to tell Karyn (and myself) is that NYC life is not as simple as a brownstone on a journalist (freelancer) salary. Instead, everything adds up and quickly! Although it's easy to say, no Karyn...don't do it!, I often foun...more
I had a hard time rating this one. The first half of the book was really hard to get through. I knew the story would cover how Karyn got into debt, but I didn't realize how painful it would be to watch someone make such stupid choices with their money, or credit cards. With that being said, I'm sure it was hard to put all that out there, and I can admire her for that. The real reason I wanted to read this book was to find out about her website, where she asked strangers for money. It sounded int...more
This sounds like a very odd premise for a book, but it's extremely entertaining.
Karyn is a young TV producer who moves to New York to further her career and find out what she wants from life. She has a well-paid, if stressful job, and starts to live the New York dream - Manhattan apartment, a few designer outfits, expensive gym membership and grooming. It doesn't take very much moderately high living to plunge her into a frightening spiral of debt, and when she loses her job in the insecure worl...more
Karyn is a young TV producer who moves to New York to further her career and find out what she wants from life. She has a well-paid, if stressful job, and starts to live the New York dream - Manhattan apartment, a few designer outfits, expensive gym membership and grooming. It doesn't take very much moderately high living to plunge her into a frightening spiral of debt, and when she loses her job in the insecure worl...more
What to say... Well, the author is funny and there were several parts of this book that made me laugh out loud. And while I realize that everyone carries debt at some point in their life, I can't relate to the NEED for big ticket items. I could never justify spending $700 on lingerie or several hundred on one pair of shoes. But just because I can't relate to her shopaholic ways, the book was still entertaining. Maybe because it seems so foreign to me to rack up that kind of debt without panic. I...more
I remember hearing about Karyn's story, and thinking...no that couldn't really happen! But it happened, and I totally connected with Karyn. Her stories of living in Manhattan and splurging on haircuts, cute clothes, and dinners out are all things that I have done routinely since I was in high school. And the result...huge debt like Karyn's! The book makes human a struggle that so many Americans face - paying the credit card bills! Her take on debt wasn't trivialized (like some said), but rather...more
I'd really wanted to love this book. It started off well, despite the less than stellar writing. I liked Karyn, but some of her financial decisions baffled me. I have debt myself, and I totally understand the morale boost of shopping. However, it was difficult to sympathize with her constant need to purchase insanely expensive items while she was upset over her extreme debt. $700 for 2 outfits? Ahhh!
I enjoyed the stories about her cat, Elvis. I also liked her determination to get herself out of...more
I enjoyed the stories about her cat, Elvis. I also liked her determination to get herself out of...more
I remember asking for this for my birthday in a long ago year. I either didn't read the summary then, or forgot about it in the ensuing 5-6 years. A recent trip to Florida seemed like a good time to finally read it. It started out well enough, but about half way into the book I accidentally saw and read the back cover, thus learning the premise / ending. I was annoyed at this newly discovered knowledge, but continued on with reading it because I was already so far into it.
From there I'm not sur...more
From there I'm not sur...more
I read this book as last month's book selection for a book club I belong to. It was intended to contrast the very sad "Billy" that we read...a contrast it was! Overall, I liked the book. I did think her narration of the shopping sprees was a bit long. And, like other critiquers on this site, I cringed at her spending habits as well as her rationale. (I mean...who goes on shopping sprees, yet fails to purchase a lock for the door!?) But the book was cute. I got annoyed at how every other paragrap...more
Warning, this a pink, girly girly book.
I struggled with this book. I am one of those people who does not understand why on earth someone would pay $600 for shoes or $12,000 for a purse. I would buy a car for $12,000 maybe, but not some fashion accessory that will be out of fashion in four minutes.
Not only that, but the author doesn't learn her lesson in college when she uses her TUITION money to buy clothes. WTF? $1600 for clothes in one blow ("but they were cute", doesn't cut it with me) and t...more
I struggled with this book. I am one of those people who does not understand why on earth someone would pay $600 for shoes or $12,000 for a purse. I would buy a car for $12,000 maybe, but not some fashion accessory that will be out of fashion in four minutes.
Not only that, but the author doesn't learn her lesson in college when she uses her TUITION money to buy clothes. WTF? $1600 for clothes in one blow ("but they were cute", doesn't cut it with me) and t...more
This book is the story of Karyn Bosnak's plunge into debt when living in NYC, her downfall when she loses her job and the website she set up to solicit strangers from the internet to help her pay off about $20K. I remember hearing about this and thinking it was so weird? Who would send her money? The book could have used a good edit and probably could have been about 100 pages shorter, but I enjoyed the story. She really changed after having to live on practically nothing WHILE paying off her de...more
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This is the second time I've read this book, and I swear, as the years go by and I get a little more smarter, when I reread books, I understand them a bit better. And the fact that I can relate to the endless shopping and worrying where the rent money is going to come from, it just made the story seem more realistic. It's a true story of a girl who got into a great deal of debt and thought up the idea to start up a website asking people to help her pay it off. And it worked. Of course there were...more
I just wanted to wring Bosnak's neck. You watch her dissolve into a financially-irresponsible moron and you want to put on your own set of high-priced, spiky-heeled boots (of which you only have one pair) and kick her in her ass. After running herself straight into debt hell, Bosnak goes online and asks for donations from people, some of whom call her out on her idiocy and some of whom take pity, either out of empathy or karma. Maybe as a fiscally responsible adult woman, who likes shopping for...more
What is not fascinating about a woman who asks people to pay off her 25k in debt? I wish I had thought of it. She isn't the world's best writer, but memoirs aren't supposed to be about compelling writing (at least to me). They have to be compelling in nature. And this one was.
I was a lot like her when I graduated from college. I had debt, tons of it. Maybe not as much as her, but a lot. I liked how she included much of the bad (people can be sooo cruel) and appreciated how she took complete bla...more
I was a lot like her when I graduated from college. I had debt, tons of it. Maybe not as much as her, but a lot. I liked how she included much of the bad (people can be sooo cruel) and appreciated how she took complete bla...more
This is my second attempt at reading this book. The first time I attempted it, I didn't have patience to get into her writing style and found it frustrating. Since this book was recommended by Jen Lancaster, an author I adore,I put this book on my shelf for another try.
Happily, I am 3/4 of the way through this memoir of one young woman's journey into deep, deep debt. I believe that her path is the way many people follow, happily purchasing things the "need" and "can't resist", and are "too good...more
Happily, I am 3/4 of the way through this memoir of one young woman's journey into deep, deep debt. I believe that her path is the way many people follow, happily purchasing things the "need" and "can't resist", and are "too good...more
I've never been the type to blow money quite so frivolously as Karyn; I tend to be more cautious, buying sale/clearance items, or the store vs. name brand, any way I can to save money. However even I get sucked into a shopaholic frenzy at times, just not with designer clothes!
So in a way I could definitely relate to Karyn, especially with just how easy it is to charge something instead of paying cash for it. There were times when I couldn't believe what I'd just read, the silly things she did to...more
So in a way I could definitely relate to Karyn, especially with just how easy it is to charge something instead of paying cash for it. There were times when I couldn't believe what I'd just read, the silly things she did to...more
This book has a slow start, but an amazing ending. Bosnak racked up over $20,000 in credit card debt,then created a website to ask people to help her pay it off. It worked! Yet, fairly lackluster writing (the most repetitive sentence structure I've read in a long time)didn't do this story justice. Unlike on her website, Bosnak's book lacks cleverness and wit. Plus, she's just too self-absorbed for my taste. Still, I learned that it really is true: "Ask and ye shall be given"...as long as you've...more
I went into this one thinking it would annoy me. Karyn Bosnack is the Karyn of savekaryn.com fame, the woman who ran up $20k in credit card debt after moving to NYC. She charged up things like designer clothes, purses, shoes, hair appointments, and bikini waxes. She made decent money for NYC - six figures in the early 2000s - but just frittered it away. She was a TV producer and had worked for shows like Jenny Jones, Curtis Court, and the Ananda Lewis Show, the latter two of which didn't do very...more
The third of my "gal about town" novels set in NYC.
God help me, I remember this girl when she launched her website, I even sent her a buck, a packet of kool-aid, and a Target gift card with something like $2 on it. She annoyed me, but charmed me at the same time.
So too goes this book. She carries you, wide-eyed and naive from downtown Chicago to NYC. You want to scream at her "stop!" when she buys her first pair of shoes for "only $170," but at the same time, you want to continue reading to se...more
God help me, I remember this girl when she launched her website, I even sent her a buck, a packet of kool-aid, and a Target gift card with something like $2 on it. She annoyed me, but charmed me at the same time.
So too goes this book. She carries you, wide-eyed and naive from downtown Chicago to NYC. You want to scream at her "stop!" when she buys her first pair of shoes for "only $170," but at the same time, you want to continue reading to se...more
Sep 13, 2007
Shay
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone and Everyone especially those who have a tendency to spend
I like "chick lit" - it's taken me a very long time to admit that. I find it fun to live vicariously through these women who seem to always have it together with great jobs, loves, and style. Save Karyn started that way then actually came through with a point and a lesson - for that I loved it.
It started out being silly and frivolous with the heroine - Karyn - shopping like crazy and spending foolishly on purses and shoes racking up a huge debt of $20,000. She finally realizes she can't pay it b...more
It started out being silly and frivolous with the heroine - Karyn - shopping like crazy and spending foolishly on purses and shoes racking up a huge debt of $20,000. She finally realizes she can't pay it b...more
Although I do not have a gi-normous credit card debt, I could definitely relate to Karyn. I am also a 20-something girl living in NYC and have definitely felt the push and pull of living here. At the same time, I was amazed at what she was spending. Her salary was at LEAST three times what I am making now and yet I somehow manage to survive without eating ramen and frapuccinos for meals.
I think Karyn would have been a lot better off if she had more friends in the city in her income bracket or le...more
I think Karyn would have been a lot better off if she had more friends in the city in her income bracket or le...more
The book is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a shopaholic's account of getting in debt up to her Gucci eyewear and digging herself out one payment at a time. I wish my debt was as glamorous......my Visa statement is full of moving expenses and vet bills!
I was tempted to start a drinking game on the number of times the author transitions to a new paragraph with the term "anyhoo" -- I lost count at 20.
Anyhoo, it is a quick and enjoyable read and anyone that has spent money on something frivol...more
I was tempted to start a drinking game on the number of times the author transitions to a new paragraph with the term "anyhoo" -- I lost count at 20.
Anyhoo, it is a quick and enjoyable read and anyone that has spent money on something frivol...more
Ok, so it took me a while to get through this book. I didn't hate it (it actually got better as I got into it), but I didn't love it either. At times, I was so frustrated with the narrator for being so obviously frivolous with her money that i almost gave up on it entirely, but then I realized part of the reason it bothered me so much was because I kind of can identify with her. Once she started detailing the actual website and the response she received, I flew through it. And it ended pretty po...more
I couldn't relate to her story at all. If I splurge, it's like $20, not $700 and her seeming inability to stop just made this a stressful read for me.
What I do find interesting is that this all happened before blogging/facebook/twitter, etc. became so huge. Word of her website spread quickly in 2002, but what would happen today? There are so many bloggers with ads or donate buttons. I think she would probably still be paying off that debt.
What I do find interesting is that this all happened before blogging/facebook/twitter, etc. became so huge. Word of her website spread quickly in 2002, but what would happen today? There are so many bloggers with ads or donate buttons. I think she would probably still be paying off that debt.
Based on the true story of shopaholic Karyn who moves to NYC and racks up $20,000 in debt. After having difficulty paying off her debt she starts selling off her stuff on ebay & starts a web-site savekaryn.com asking for donations from strangers. Interesting & amusing, particularly when one considers how epidemic debt has become. I liked her creativity to paying off her debt & how she takes responsibility for it.
Karyn Bosnak is hilarious in this charming memoir about her ease into retail therapy and struggle out of the debt that soon followed. She resembles a lot of how people convince themselves that they need things they really don't and how they justify the purchase until the bill comes. But to read this book is a coin toss, you either love her or you hate her, but one thing is for sure, we can all relate to her.
First things first - yes, I only give this book two stars, but that's not to say I didn't like the idea behind it and Karyn Bosnaks determination to to get out of debt.
That said, the author presents herself as a shopaholic in best Becky-Bloomwood-Style and she's spending and spending and spending. Singing songs of praise on Saks & Co. (and the likes) take up a good part of the book, seasoned with the odd date with men who'll disappear as fast as they appeared.
With the idea of creating a webs...more
That said, the author presents herself as a shopaholic in best Becky-Bloomwood-Style and she's spending and spending and spending. Singing songs of praise on Saks & Co. (and the likes) take up a good part of the book, seasoned with the odd date with men who'll disappear as fast as they appeared.
With the idea of creating a webs...more
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Karyn Bosnak was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. After spending much of her early career as a television producer, she moved to New York in 2000 and became a writer. Her first book, the memoir SAVE KARYN (based on the website of the same name), received international media attention when it was published in 2003 resulting in appearances on the Today Show and 20/20. Karyn's second book a...more
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Sep 06, 2008 05:35pm