I shared this story on my journal, but I thought I would share here too:
Just for entertainment purposes, I thought I would share a story about how I almost told my entire financial story on national TV, only to live on in reruns forever!
Back when we had cable, I was a big Suze Orman fan. In my original post, I mentioned that I have been following (though not necessarily listening to) various personal finance "experts" for years. For awhile, I actually considered it sort of a hobby; I just couldn't allow anything in my own life to get too uncomfortable! Anyway, I sent an email to the Suze Orman show, and it basically went something like this:
"My husband and I are well-educated, and we make good money, but we can never seem to pay-off credit cards for good. Every time we have some sort of wind-fall, we pay off our debts, only to find ourselves in the same situation within a few short years. Why can't we stop this pattern?"
I was really wondering if we weren't changing our habits because we were paying things off with "easy money" (one was an inheritance, and one was a life insurance pay-off after my dad's death). My thoughts were that if we actually had to sacrifice and change our habits, then we would be better-off. I just wondered what Suze would say about it.
Well, the Suze producers must have thought this would be good TV, because they contacted me about asking that question on the air. As in, I would be the guest, and we would be discussing my finances. I agreed, they did some prep work with me, and even had me send in pictures of myself.
On the day of the interview, they sent a car to my work to pick me up and take me to a local TV station, which they were going to use to record the segment. At the last minute, the producer called, and said they couldn't do it that day. I have to confess, I was kind of relieved. See by that time, I had really given the whole thing some thought, and I was really nervous. I mean, they show reruns of that show, and my problems would be out there for everyone I've ever known to see!
By the time they called to reschedule, I had totally changed my mind. They asked if I would be willing to discuss my situation as a "call-in" viewer, but I was over it by then. Whew, am I glad I didn't do that!
So that's the story of how my financial stupidity almost became the topic of a cable TV show. :)