Carrie Joy Grimes Releases May 19 Money Guide Urging Debt Negotiation and 401(k) Matches
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 21
Carrie Joy Grimes Releases May 19 Money Guide Urging Debt Negotiation and 401(k) Matches
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 21
May 19 brought the release of Carrie Joy Grimes’s “The Joy of Money,” a personal finance book aimed at readers struggling with debt, budgeting and a tougher economy.
Grimes argues people should reject “shame guru” advice and instead use practical tools, including negotiating credit-card, bank and IRS payment terms, claiming tax breaks and building emergency savings.
Her examples include the earned income tax credit—worth nearly $3,000 on average, with 1 in 4 eligible workers not claiming it—and employer 401(k) matches, which she calls “free money.”
For households under pressure, she recommends saving three to six months of essential expenses, keeping an extra $1,000 liquid, paying down card debt and preparing a financial “go bag” for unemployment, SNAP and Medicaid claims.
Grimes, a former SEIU union organizer who founded nonprofit WorkMoney in 2020, frames the book as both a how-to manual and a call to organize for a more functional economy.
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