Resumo de Get Out Of Dept Free.. Save Karyn!

Karyn Bosnak is a person who thinks outside of the box. At least that is what she says on her web site, www.savekaryn.com.

Bosnak started the website in order for her to pay off her credit card debt, that at one point totaled more than $20,000.

In Save Karyn, One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back, she detailed her struggles as well as triumphs. She writes about moving to New York City from Chicago, the embarrassment of having her credit card rejected in addition to learning how to save money by going to the dollar store.

Her problems begin when she moves to New York City and her furniture does not arrive for another month. So she starts using her American Express (which is a charge card and needs to be paid by the end of each month) and thus begins the journey into debt.

Bosnak also discovers the stores in New York City and she gets herself deeper into debt, until she feels as though she cannot get out. She purchased a pair of sunglasses for $240 and justified it by saying that she would wear them for two seasons, so it was just like buying two pairs of sunglasses for $120 for each season. Or she could have just bought a decent pair for $20 and not have had to charge them at all.

The book was an enjoyable read, although parts of Bosnak's writing style took away from the story. On some pages she used as many as 10 exclamation marks. Apparently she was absent that day in her writing class when she learned that exclamation marks were to be used sparingly.

Bosnak also introduces characters into the plot that feel unnecessary, and there are so many of them, it gets hard to keep them all straight. She must have felt that they were unnecessary halfway through as well, because some characters seem to just disappear. Although, it is a memoir, therefore, sometimes people really do just disappear from one's life.

The title suggests that it is her journey into debt and back, but the journey into debt takes over 300 pages, and the journey out of debt takes only 100 pages

The summary on the back of the book makes it sound as though most of the book is dedicated to her decision to think 'outside of the box' in order to raise money, and not her lavish shopping trips.

While the back-story of how she got into debt was entertaining, she could have accomplished the background information in far less than 300 pages.

Her writing style is very conversational. While at first this can be refreshing, after a while it wears thin.

By the end of those 300 pages, Bosnak was in $20,000 worth of debt. Even with her job she was not able to keep up with her bills. She was making nearly $1,500 a week and disclosed that she made six figures a year.

She decided to start a website so that she could raise money to pay off her debt. Bosnak unapologetically asks for money to help her with her bills. On the opening page of her website, she keeps visitors posted on her debt progress, as well as an address in which to send the money to.

Her idea to start a website was the most interesting and unique part of the book, and it was unfortunate that it was crammed into 100 pages.

The book is an enjoyable read, if you are able to get past some of Bosnak's struggles with finding her writing style.

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