Financial problems don't only impact finances

Money problems have put people precariously close to the edge. How do I know? Because I’m a messenger who was killed. I recently received a piece of hate mail that accused me of a lot of things including eating babies (you can’t make this stuff up!) It is not every day that I get such creative mail, so I reached out to him. Our email exchanges ended with inspirational quotes and a few LOLs. He shared his personal financial struggles and even said “If I ever have money to manage, I’ll call you.” Obviously, this person wasn’t really angry with me or anyone in particular. He was just angry. I get it. While I was happy to have the opportunity to talk with this person, I know that there are an expediential number of financially stressed people who I will never interact with—but perhaps you will. Maybe it is the guy honking in the car behind you, the seemingly rude person at the checkout counter, or the usually friendly neighbor who is no longer waving back. As people continue to carry the burden of this economy, they can’t help but to get tired. And as any parent knows, tired equals cranky. The bottom line is that financial problems don’t only impact finances. Let’s try to give each other a little leeway and perhaps a few more reasons to LOL.

Kim McGrigg is the former Manager of Community and Media Relations for MMI.

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