Do you know who watches entirely too much “70’s” TV and has an unnaturally deep knowledge of the Brady Bunch? Ewwww!

Seriously though, the analogy of gossip as an addiction is a good one. The subject could be gossip, smoking, alcohol, video games, soap operas, or insert your choice here . Gossip, like alcohol and smoking has the ability to hurt others as well as ourselves. But the author took an important first step in recognizing the pitfalls of her pastime and at least attempting to correct it.

I quit smoking every day for 15 years, all the while deluding myself that "I was just a social smoker," hiding the habit from family and friends (my live in partner didn't know I smoked), and borrowing smokes--not because I was cheap, but because I was in total denial. In short, I hated myself for all these activities.

I experience the same feelings with gossip and …well… certain reality shows. (please don’t tell anyone okay)

In my experience, gossip is seductive. Soooo seductive. On my own, I'm okay. My friends and family and I don't indulge in harmful or frivolous gossip, not because we are holier than though, it’s just the way we are. (Or maybe I’d just rather talk about me?) But when I am faced with a true gossip and a juicy topic, I can quickly get sucked into the muck and mire. Worse, in very short order, I can actually become far worse than the one who seduced me. I’ve witnessed this in myself, and it sickens me. Fortunately, the harm inflicted has been greater to me than to others. I have suffered at least one career set back and much self admonishment.

A few years ago I ended a friendship that was entirely based on gossip. Lifesucking, time wasting, useless gossip. Our falling out was not because of gossip but over a simple misunderstanding. Without getting into the details, I quietly stepped out of the friendship over the misunderstanding, and then I realized that I had freed up countless hours in my week that were previously wasted recounting the exploits of others. My friend tried to reconnect, not because she missed my friendship, but because she is completely addicted. I realized that it didn’t matter who was on the end of the line dishing with her, just that the line was engaged. I am not going there again.

Like smoking, I find that it is best to avoid associating with people who engage in the behaviour I want to change…at least until I can conquer it on my own. I’m smoke free for 9 years, and I no longer need to avoid smokers. But more interesting is the fact that the smokers have dropped out of my life. It is the same with gossips. They don’t want to be with anyone who doesn’t engage in the same bad habit.

But enough about me... isn't it interesting that some of the letter writers seem to vociferously elevate themselves above the author in a way that seems entirely unhealthy and self-righteous? “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much” perhaps?

the fundamentals of money (particularly for the average person without any fancy investment vehicles) is called math and everyone learned the basics, or should have, by the time they reached puberty.

E.g., Sally picks 6 apples. Sally promises 2 apples to Doug and 2 apples to Suzy. If Sally needs one apple for herself, how many apples can she give to the teacher? A = 1

Same as: Sally has $2000 per month of disposable income. If Suzy needs $700 for food, electricity and heat and $500 for transportation, how much money does Sally have for a mortgage and taxes? A = $800. There is no magic to this equation and any grade schooler can solve it.

Where it gets complicated is when Sally borrows $1000 per month, month after month, by using her Visa to buy the purses, shoes, granite countertops and other purely lifestyle items promoted by Oprah's Wishlist and the rest of the lifestyle porn industry. If Sally can't figure out that she eventually has to pay for this stuff, and that the longer she waits, the more it costs with the added interest, and that there may be a risk she will lose her job, well then Sally is an idiot. Sorry Sally...but it needs to be said.

The banks selling "what we say you can afford" are no different than snake oil salesmen of old but with big bonus plans and BMWs instead of wagons. The question is why didn't more people do the math?

I genuinely feel for the Sally's in the world who got screwed over by unforeseen illnesses, an incredibly inhumane US medical system, an illegal war, a tanking domestic industry, global warming, a bad marriage, a careless government (aka Katrinagate), etc.

But, it just seems there were too many Sallys who just didn't bother to do the basic math and they fell right into the trap of the snake oil salesman. I know this is somewhat oversimplified, but responsibility is a tough pill to swallow.

Has there ever been a time in history when the saying "buyer beware" didn't ring true? These stories are heartbreaking, but they didn't have to happen.