Shaking a coffee can on the Internet
January 14th, 2006 | by mbhunter |Ran across this post in The Debt Defier about SaveKaryn.com. The site is about a young woman who got into $20k of credit card debt very quickly, and begs people to help her pay it back. Basically, she shook a coffee can on the Internet and hoped that people would throw something in.
Well, they did all right. People sent her about two-thirds of that amount!
She answered e-mails, posted updates, thanked those who contributed, and so forth. Now she has books written and a movie deal.
This is quite a phenomenon. At first I was shaking my head, and on some levels I still am, thinking that this panhandling tactic is a cop-out and wondering why people would bail someone out of a mess that was utterly and completely their fault. (She was a bit of a shopper.)
But on the other hand, it takes a lot of guts to announce to the world that you have a debt problem, ask for advice, and talk about how you’re reducing your debt. Extraordinary debt calls for extraordinary action, and combining this with direct pleas for money worked out very well for Karyn Boznak.
It’s not for everyone, though. Some, like The Debt Defier and No Credit Needed, didn’t want to appear like they were begging, and that’s fine too.
The important point is to acknowledge your debt and take appropriate action to eliminate it — by tried and true methods, or something completely different! As long as the debt is becoming less, and you’re doing it legally, who cares how? Good for you!
5 Responses to “Shaking a coffee can on the Internet”
By John MacKenzie ( Adult ADD and Money on Jan 14, 2006 | Reply
Begging for money on the internet is a cop out. The people that gave her money are enabling her behavior. What did she learn for handling problems in the future. There are many other people who are truly in need of a helping hand.
By ncnblog on Jan 14, 2006 | Reply
Hey, thanks for the mention of No Credit Needed, but to clarrify, I have NOT asked for help in getting out of debt. Your post kinda-sorta makes it sound as if I have. Thanks again, ncnblog.com
By mbhunter on Jan 14, 2006 | Reply
Hi ncnblog,
Thanks for pointing that out. I mixed up the references in the paragraphs unintentionally. I knew that you weren’t directly asking for money on your blog, and I apologize that I implied that … not my intent at all! I fixed the wording in the post.
Sorry about that! Thanks for the correction!
By mbhunter on Jan 14, 2006 | Reply
ADD, yes, that’s the part I’m still shaking my head about.
By Cap on Jan 15, 2006 | Reply
saw it awhile back.. saw that she got her debt paid in 2 weeks..
also saw the massive amounts of “saveme.com” websites. lol. it was pretty wild back then, in 2002..
didnt realize she had a book out though. seems to me like she learned a lot from it. not sure if she’s spending wisely anymore or not, but maybe.
there was a period of time where she paid her thing forward too. each month she hosted a person who needed help, and directed her massive traffic towards their site.
she could have milked it for worse.