Jamie Feldman

My friend Rachel and I walk all over Brooklyn.

My friend Rachel and I walk all over Brooklyn.

Or a grocery store.

Or a grocery store.

This is a path we've walked, I would say, maybe a hundred times before.

This is a path we've walked, I would say, maybe a hundred times before.

What I did and did not want to tell Rachel that day was that I had $14,000 of credit card debt. And that I'd been maintaining that level of debt in secret for years. $14,000 worth of free-floating anxiety. $14,000 worth of sleepless nights. $14,000 worth of denial. Denial that was so entrenched, it kept me from opening my credit card statements or making anything but the minimum auto payments.

What I did and did not want to tell Rachel that day was that I had $14,000 of credit card debt. And that I'd been maintaining that level of debt in secret for years. $14,000 worth of free-floating anxiety. $14,000 worth of sleepless nights. $14,000 worth of denial. Denial that was so entrenched, it kept me from opening my credit card statements or making anything but the minimum auto payments.

It was so deep that it was actually more than $14,000. After talking with Rachel that day, I opened all my accounts and realized the debt was more like $18,000. The denial was so bad that I didn't even realize how much debt I had.

It was so deep that it was actually more than $14,000. After talking with Rachel that day, I opened all my accounts and realized the debt was more like $18,000. The denial was so bad that I didn't even realize how much debt I had.

I want to know if anyone else is feeling extremely anxious like me.

I want to know if anyone else is feeling extremely anxious like me.

You know, you just hit a point where the dread rises up so far that it just completely overwhelms you. That and the fact that I had been laid off a few months prior and there was just no way of keeping myself afloat or pretending to be afloat anymore. Now there was suddenly just no money coming in. There was no way to avoid it any longer.

You know, you just hit a point where the dread rises up so far that it just completely overwhelms you. That and the fact that I had been laid off a few months prior and there was just no way of keeping myself afloat or pretending to be afloat anymore. Now there was suddenly just no money coming in. There was no way to avoid it any longer.

And keeping my secret did make me feel safer because it gave me a false sense of control. But I was actually spinning out of control and keeping it all to myself was beginning to make me unsafe. Why am I telling you this? In order for me to be held accountable, I'm going to need you to come with me on this journey. The goal that I've set for myself is getting out of my credit card debt.

And keeping my secret did make me feel safer because it gave me a false sense of control. But I was actually spinning out of control and keeping it all to myself was beginning to make me unsafe. Why am I telling you this? In order for me to be held accountable, I'm going to need you to come with me on this journey. The goal that I've set for myself is getting out of my credit card debt.

And if and when I'm able to do that, I'm going to get a cat.

And if and when I'm able to do that, I'm going to get a cat.

And it was then that she could see not only herself, but just how many people had been hiding in the shadows with her. And that's where the story really begins. Welcome to Debt Heads. Welcome. Debt Heads is an investigation into the American economy. From the perspective of people in debt. Like us. Like everybody. I'm Jamie. And I'm Rachel. And we named this podcast after ourselves.

And it was then that she could see not only herself, but just how many people had been hiding in the shadows with her. And that's where the story really begins. Welcome to Debt Heads. Welcome. Debt Heads is an investigation into the American economy. From the perspective of people in debt. Like us. Like everybody. I'm Jamie. And I'm Rachel. And we named this podcast after ourselves.