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Glinda Bridgforth thought she knew the meaning of success. In the '80s, she was living the good life in California, enjoying an impressive salary as manager of a major California bank, responsible for a $90 million unit with 22 employees. She'd married the man of her dreams, an ex-professional baseball player who was both ambitious and charismatic. They owned a house in the Oakland hills and shopped without concern for price tags. Like her associates, she believed, "If you want to be financially successful, you must spend as if you already are." |
Away from the office, however, she was unhappy in her marriage, living paycheck to paycheck and nearly bankrupt, with $50,000 in unsecured debt. Her virtual prosperity was mostly financed by debt and pre-approved credit cards with high limits. Like many Americans, she says, "Once we had money in our pockets, [we] got caught up in our capacity to consume … unaware of the emotional conditioning and cultural influences affecting our financial life." In denial about her dissembling marriage, ignoring signs that her finances were a disaster and pressed to meet the bank's goals for her department--in spite of employees quitting, Bridgforth became overwhelmed. But for several months, she resisted all recommendations to take a leave of absence. She felt ashamed, embarrassed and depressed. "I thought I was the only one who could fix things. I became angry and resentful from giving, giving, giving." Finally, with the help of a therapist, she left the job and the marriage that were no longer healthy for her.
Going into therapy to understand her compulsive spending habits and working with a financial expert to create a feasible spending and savings plan were the first steps in her recovery. "In a society in which financial status is an important part of what makes people 'successful,' spending often becomes a means of self-affirmation," she says. "I had to get my ego out of the way." With new determination, Bridgforth began developing a small financial recovery counseling practice, which she eventually moved to her home town of Detroit. Becoming an entrepreneur suited Bridgforth. "I wanted to work one-on-one, share what I'd learned and have a better quality of life," she says. With a $5000 investment, she set up her first office and began to promote her services by presenting seminars, writing articles and doing interviews for business and lifestyle magazines. Gradually, these led to features on TV and radio shows and helped her gain visibility and, ultimately, an international clientele. In her consulting practice, Bridgforth employs a holistic approach to economic recovery--one she developed to understand herself and the roots of her spending, as well as the fundamentals of budgeting, saving and planning for the future. And her work with clients over the past 10 years has resulted in three books that she calls the "sister series": Girl, Get Your Money Straight!, Girl, Make Your Money Grow!, and Girl, Get Your Credit Straight! Book sales skyrocketed after a 2006 appearance on the Oprah "American Debt Diet" series. "That's the phone call I'd waited years to get," she says. "I received hundreds of requests, phone calls and e-mails after that series and am still sorting them out." After that appearance, she considered expanding her business by franchising, but decided she preferred the boutique practice she had built, the lifestyle it afforded and the peace of mind it brought her. A newlywed in her early 50s, Bridgforth is committed to maintaining the balance between her personal and professional life. Instead of expanding the business, she's concentrated on outsourcing and training the other associates already working with her and has increased business by more than 40 percent in the past year. |