Debtors Anonymous (DA) is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to maintain financial solvency.[1] Membership is open to anyone with a desire to stop incurring unsecured debt.[2][3] DA members may specifically identify themselves as, among other things, compulsive debtors[3] or compulsive underearners.[1]
In 1968 members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) who believed that their financial difficulties were caused by an addictive disease not unlike alcoholism founded an organization named Penny Pinchers, later renamed Capital Builders. Eventually this group committed to a rigorous twelve-step approach and in 1971 was organized under the name Debtors Anonymous.[4]
Contents |
Structure
Debtors Anonymous considers compulsive debting to be a disease, similar to other addictive diseases like alcoholism and pathological gambling.[3] They feel that compulsive underearners have viable skills, but are psychologically incapable of earning enough money to maintain solvency.[1] The terms "terminal vagueness" and "compulsively inattentiveness" are used to describe the characteristic behaviors of compulsive debtors. They refer to a systematic avoidance of monitoring one's finances, leading to an overestimation or underestimation of one's account balances.[3]
Members of Debtors Anonymous are encouraged to "keep numbers" a practice that requires recording each cent owed, spent, and earned.[3] Members also maintain "spending plans", essentially lists of all products and services to be purchased. Members regularly review these plans and assess whether items and amounts in the spending plan are reasonable.[3] A variation on a spending plan is known as the "envelope method", in which members separate each of their expenses into categories and then fill an envelope with the amount of money they can spend in each.[3]
Outside of attending regular DA meetings, members are encouraged to organize "pressure relief meetings." In these meetings, a newer member invites two veteran members to review his or her financial records in detail and give practical advice.[3]
In addition to its conference-approved pamphlets,[5] DA has one book conference-approved book used as standard literature, A Currency of Hope.[4] A Current of Hope includes DA's adaptations of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, a description of compulsive debting, a brief history of DA, and thirty eight stories written by DA members explaining how DA has affected their lives.[6] DA has recently announced that it will commission a writer to produce a second book.[citation needed] A study conducted in 2002 found that a lack of DA approved literature was one of the common obstacles preventing potential members from entering the DA program.[7]
See also
Further reading
- Benson, April Lane; Bengler, Marie. "Chapter 14: Treating Compulsive Buying". in Coombs, Robert H.. Handbook of addictive disorders: a practical guide to diagnosis and treatment. pp. 451-488. ISBN 0471235024. OCLC 53224831.
- Brazer, Leonard (2000). "Chapter 17: Psychoeducational Group Therapy for Money Disorders". in Benson, April Lane. I shop, therefore I am: compulsive buying and search for shelf. pp. 398-430. ISBN 0765702428. OCLC 301650820.
- Hayes, Terrell A (1996). Social and self-labeling processes in recognizing compulsive indebtedness: findings from Debtors Anonymous. (Ph. D. in Sociology thesis). Vanderbilt University. OCLC 37916407.
- Levine, Betsy; Kellen, Bonnie (2000). "Chapter 18: Debtors Anonymous and Psychotherapy". in Benson, April Lane. I shop, therefore I am: compulsive buying and search for shelf. pp. 431-454. ISBN 0765702428. OCLC 301650820.
References
- ^ a b c Goldman, Ramona (2000). "Chapter 11: Compulsive Buying as an Addiction". in Benson, April Lane. I shop, therefore I am: compulsive buying and search for shelf. pp. 245-267. ISBN 0765702428. OCLC 301650820.
- ^ Strauss, Steven D.; Jaffe, Azriela (2003). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beating Debt. Alpha Books. ISBN 1592571166. OCLC 52959323.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Morenberg, Adam D. (July 2004). Governing Wayward Consumers: Self-Change and Recovery in Debtors Anonymous. (MA in Sociology thesis). Tampa, Florida: University of South Florida. OCLC 56564118. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
- ^ a b Greco, Tony; Fagen, Kristi (1 May 2009). Recovery A to Z: A Dictionary of Twelve-Step Key Terms and Phrases. Central Recovery Press. p. 27. ISBN 0979986931. OCLC 244765260.
- ^ Harber, Joe (7 October 2009). "DA Literature - Pamphlets". Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5lvfSefnx. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
- ^ Debtors Anonymous (1999). A Currency of Hope. Needham, Massachusetts: Debtors Anonymous General Service Board, Inc.. ISBN 0970323808. OCLC 42967777.
- ^ Hayes, Terrell A. (2001-2002). "Potential Obstacles to Worldview Transformations: Findings From Debtors Anonymous". International Journal of Self Help and Self Care 1 (4): 253–368. ISSN 1541-4450. http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?id=ple7543q7ntfnq2h.
External links
- Debtors Anonymous
- Works by or about Debtors Anonymous in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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