Rating: 
Summary: Give this to a young adult BEFORE he/she gets a credit card!
Review: How I wish I'd read this book before I had my first credit card. This cautionary tale, all of it true, could have saved me a bundle. I'd give this to any young adult who needs a crash course on the dangers of credit card debt.
Karyn Bosnak is a young woman who has gotten into debt due to a penchant for the finer things in life - expensive clothes, cuisine and more. When her debt rises into the thousands, she decides to bare all and opens a website at www.savekaryn.com. She is honest and doesn't deny her problem or make excuses - although she does ask sympathetic visitors to help pay off her debt by offering donations or bidding on her castoffs on Ebay.
In return, she keeps a running account of her expenses and savings, including her new, thrifty ways (many of which she learns from readers who write to her). She gets letters which range from hostile ("How could you be so stupid?") to enouraging "(I'm rooting for you!") which she shares with readers at her website. Amazingly, this scheme works and Karyn not only pulls herself out of debt but makes the national news. Ethics aside, gotta give her credit for having thought of a creative way to pull herself out of a hole.
I confess to having visited the site many times and found it so enjoyable that I just HAD to get this book. It was a fun read, full of humor, insight and charm. More importantly, if Karyn's experiences could save someone else from following in her footsteps.
Rating: 
Summary: The Modern Woman's Guide to Digital Begging
Review: The story of Karyn Bosnak is truly a cautionary tale with a hollywood happy ending slapped on for good measure. Or is it a happy ending? We really don't know since this young woman is still at an early stage in her business life.Like so many other young people she moved to New York and didn't properly consider the actual cost of living versus her salary. As a result she ended up with thousands of dollars in credit card debt and when she lost her job there was no way to pay the bills. The story is a familiar one as credit card debt has become bronzed into the American way of life. With low interest rates, play now and pay lots of interest later has become all the rage. Karyn's solution to reducing her debt involved building a website, auctioning off some of her most expensive belongings and begging folks for a couple of bucks to pay her debts. Thanks to a mention in the Sunday New York Times, Karyn's website became a hit and as a result she got her book deal and got some hardworking people to pay off her credit card debt for her. I have a serious problem with this type of approach. You spend beyond your means and then use a website to beg people for money? What does that teach anyone? Are we to expect that every time we overstep our financial means that someone else should swoop in and save us? This is not a financial action plan but a recipe for disaster. In fact I'd be willing to bet that Karyn learned very little from the whole experience besides the fact that if you ask nicely enough and get a write up in the NY Times that other folks will come to your rescue. I wonder if any of the people who gave money realized that they weren't saving Karyn from the big, bad credit card companies, but merely paying for all of her nights out and useless expensive lingerie. As a person who has dug himself out of thousands in credit card debt I can tell you that you learn much more when you take responsibility for yourself and pay your bills through hard work. So save yourself a few bucks and take to heart the following common sense: Create a budget for yourself, live within your means and you won't need to be saved.
Rating:
Summary: Karyn Is HUMAN! Credit Card Debt Happens To All Of Us!
Review: I got this book for Christmas this year. My mom thought it was a funny title, because 13 yrs. ago I was in credit card debt myself and had to work two jobs to pay it off, and that STILL wasn't enough. Anywho, I thought I would put this book aside and read it when I had time. The night that I got it, I paged through it and got sucked in - I couldn't put this book down and was up late every night for the last three nights reading it. Karyn is human - and is no different from any other 26 yr. old who moves from Chicago to NYC to find herself. She wants to look good and wants to fit in, so she buys a few things here and there. Before she knows it, she's buying way too much and is in debt up to her eyeballs. She sets up a website and asks people to send her a buck or two if they can. Before long, publicity for her site snowballs and her debt is paid off because of donations and because she sells a lot of the items she bought with her credit cards on Ebay. Before you think that she's an idiot, read the book. You will end up loving this girl and will end up wanting to send her money yourself! She no longer accepts donations and is no longer in debt, but if you read her story, you'll see just how human we all are. This COULD happen to YOU. One of the reasons that we find ourselves rooting for Karen is because she tells us about the humiliating things that happen to her along the way - her run-in with a mouse and a cockroach, the way she was a little too fat in the rear end for a guy she was dating to grab her by the butt and pull her up, and the way that some neighborhood hoodlums in Brooklyn were taunting her. This story is hilarious, interesting, and somewhat touching. It'll remind you of what it's like to be 26 and in over your head.
Rating:
Summary: What in the world?
Review: You have GOT to be joking.
Rating:
Summary: I just loved it
Review: I bought this book the weekend before my wedding with plans to read it on the plane to our honeymoon. Instead, I could hardly put it down and before I knew it, I had finished the book before I walked down the aisle, much less boarded the plane. It's an easy read; Karyn's humor is priceless. I have been a loyal fan of her site for months and this book is a logical and wonderful extension. You should purchase it today!!
Rating:
Summary: A truly good book!
Review: This was an excellent read about Karyn, a total shopaholic. Even though the situation is a serious one this book relates it with humor and compassion. I too am a total shopaholic and I could definitly relate to her story as I am sure many people can....I couldn't put the book down! It's also nice to know people out their are willing to help out someone in need! Karyn - great job in writing this book...I absolutely loved it!
Rating:
Summary: If you're in debt, read this book!
Review: Just when I was feeling at my worst about my credit card debt, I saw this book. I started reading it and could not put it down. I thought that I was the only one in debt and Karyn's book made me feel not so alone. Karyn's book describes her journey into and out of debt. It is about a 20-something career gal that moves to New York City. She is swept away by the New York lifestyle and soon finds herself in debt. Keeping her debt a secret from almost everyone, Karyn decides, with the help of her roommate, to create a website asking for help with her debt. I could completely relate to her experiences. I loved this book; I couldn't put it down. If you're in debt, read this book. You will feel not so alone!
Rating:
Summary: Save Karyn-- A must read!
Review: Let me start off by saying how much I adore this book! I honestly just could not put it down until it was finished! Since then, I've read it at least two more times. Karyn has a story that most of us can relate to on some level. There isn't one person out there who at one time hasn't bought something that they can't afford, myself included! Karyn has this unique ability to tell a story really well--her book is clever, funny, and it just has this really refreshing quality. You should really buy this book! It's an addicting read that you just might identify with, have a few laughs over, and realize that sometimes when you need a bit of help all you have to do is ask!
Rating: 
Summary: Funny.. real.. and I wish I had thought of it first!!
Review: I read the book a couple of months ago.. my own personal shopping addiction includes BOOKS! Karyn's humor fills the pages..and her story is one that has happened to many.. however, her solution to a big credit card debt is definitely one of a kind.. and you can't help but like her... especially, when she has a cat named Elvis... I hope she'll write some more...maybe include the cat in the next book.. oh, and Karyn.. you know those Cafe Americano's at Starbucks that you loved so much??? On a visit a few weeks ago, I decided, in your honor, to try one.. ok, I'm hooked..
however, I am keeping myself away from starbucks and making my own at home!! enjoyed it alot!!
Rating:
Summary: I never knew debt could be so entertaining...
Review: OK I'm a shopper, I'll admit it; but what is worse is that I'm a credit card shopper and really can't afford the things I buy most of the time. I'm not proud of it, but at least I look good while doing it. Ok, thats a little bit of a joke but honestly I think that's why I loved this book so much. I could relate to Karyn and her debt, but most of all her humor. I couldn't put it down. I have never read "non-fiction" before because, well frankly, I thought it would be boring but this was engaging and charming, but mostly it was human. And although she's not saving the world, by saving herself Ms. Bosnak shows that there are kind people out there willing to give another human some help with their problems, even problems that they caused themselves. I read most of the book in one sitting, at an open call audition, and for just a little bit of time I had forgotten that I was waiting in line with hundreds of other actors waiting for their big break. Karyn didn't wait for hers, she made it happen herself, well with a little help from a few kind strangers. I guess maybe there is hope for me too!
| 
