Welcome back to our four-part series in which Debt Heads co-host Jamie Feldman, who started paying off roughly $20,000 of credit card debt two years ago, aims to answer the question: “how the hell did you get into so much debt in the first place?”

Last week’s episode, our first, explored how having low self-worth contributes to financial woes. You can listen to it here.

This week we’re digging into an aspect of debt accrual that is a bit more practical than abstract — wages. Or rather, lack thereof.

After getting laid off from her journalism job in 2021, Jamie grappled with the fact that she’d spent more than seven years chasing clicks to put money in someone else’s pocket, and trading in a fair income for perks, a fancy job title and an exciting email address (that she mainly used to secure dinner reservations at restaurants she could not afford to eat at on her salary).

Jamie’s employment experience is not the most egregious example, but the fact remains — so many of us in this country simply do not make enough money to get by.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit debtheads.substack.com/subscribe