Carrie Grimes

Money Advice Fails When Shame Keeps People From Facing the Math

Carrie Joy Grimes, founder of the nonprofit WorkMoney, argues on Masters of Scale that getting better at money requires treating it as both arithmetic and emotion. Drawing on WorkMoney’s more than 9 million members and her own experience as a union organizer, Grimes says fear, shame and isolation often prevent people from using financial information they may already have. Her case is that practical help with bills, debt and savings has to be paired with a broader effort to build collective power for middle-class Americans.