Overcoming Scarcity

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

In 2008, both my parents lost their jobs. It was the height of the recession, and it was nobody’s fault, really. At least, nobody we could name. I was a sophomore in high school, and I was needlessly bratty. Stubborn and single-minded. All I wanted to do was run and go to school and pretend to know everything. Money was not something I thought much about. I made a little money during the summer, but I knew nothing about the realities of work, mortgages, credit cards, interest rates, or (God forbid) taxes. 2008 was not a great year for a lot of people. For me, 2008 was probably the first time I thought about money at all, and it was definitely the first time I worried about it.

Fighting about money is one of the top reasons couples separate and divorce. Worrying about money is more common than not in America, with 64 percent of people living paycheck to paycheck, inflation soaring and wages slow to keep up. The initial worry I felt during the 2008 recession wouldn’t disappear though.

I went to a private university on a full scholarship. Since I was an athlete, my tuition and books were paid for, and the elimination of student debt was, and continues to be, an enormous blessing. Many kids on my team and in my school didn’t grow up like I did, though. Many were from wealthy suburbs of Chicago. Many didn’t work…