'Financial Fornication' means to get you talking about money
ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - We will talk about a lot of things, like what's happening at work, or maybe personal parts of our privates lives, but when it comes to money talk, that's when we can clam up.
The FOX 5 I-Team had a frank, sit-down talk with Tarra Jackson about her new book called, "Financial Fornication." Kind of a spicy title, sure, but it's a serious topic. She says the financial industry is playing chess. Me and you? Just checkers.
"Most people are OK talking about sex. They talk about relationships. They're OK talking about that, but nobody wants to talk about their crappy credit," she told u.
Buried in the book's pages are the experienced words of Tarra Jackson. She breaks down the dysfunctional relationship many of us have with money.
"What I talk about in the book is how I was, and other people are, financially promiscuous with their credit cards. Not just one. Sometimes multiple. And they have all these financial one-night stands with credit."
Sound familiar? Yeah, I'm guilty, too. Ms. Jackson, writes in "Financial Fornication" that we while we're guilty of over-spending, we are also in an abusive relationship with the financial institutions
"High fees, high-load interest rates, low deposit rates, poor customer service and you're ready to leave, you're ready to get out. Well, there is a way to do that,"
Here are three steps to take: Identify your problem. Maybe it's too many credit cards or too high of a debt-to-credit ratio. Now, decide what you want. Do you want to get down to one credit card or to dump a high-interest loan? Now, you can either stay in the relationship and work it out, or you can get a financial divorce. You have to decide what's best for you - not the bank.
"It's just like dating someone else. You need to know what your needs and wants are and what your deal breakers are. And that's what I talk about in Financial Fornication. You need to understand those so that when you go to another financial institution you don't wind up in the same situation that you were with the other financial institution."
Yes, the title will make you giggle a bit, but it's designed to make money talk a lot less intimidating.