When readers last heard from Hill Harper, he was urging black men and women to have an honest conversation about relationships. With his fourth book, Harper, widely known for the role of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on CSI: NY, urges everyone to take an honest look at his or her relationship... to money.
As he began writing, "The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in its Place," (Gotham Books, $26), Harper had a health crisis. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Curing one's relationship with money and conquering a grave illness had some parallels, he decided.
His fans will be happy to know that Harper, who arrives in Atlanta on Wednesday for book signing, has a clean bill of health.
"Today, if we believe the doctors, I am doing pretty well," said Harper by phone. Early detection worked in his favor, he said, as did extensive research and second and third opinions.
He also retained a positive attitude. "There were times when I was down, but a positive attitude goes a long way toward healing," Harper said.
Harper tapped into his positivity during a train ride from Los Angeles to Chicago as he worked on his theories about wealth. Part one of "The Wealth Cure" begins with the diagnosis and the idea that we as a society have a debilitating relationship with money. As Harper moves through stages of treatment, compliance, maintenance and ultimately overcoming our "wealth virus" we meet a few interesting characters that he encounters while traveling through parts of middle America.
"At the end of the day, this personal debt crisis we are seeing right now is across the board. Ultimately, we need to re-evaluate our relationship to money as a society and not just as individual groups or demographic groups," Harper said. "There are people who have lived their lives quite well who are filing for bankruptcy. In this debt crisis, no one is immune."
Here are just a few of his thoughts on how we can all start healing our wealth.
Q: Your last book was about romantic relationships. What are some links between romantic relationships and money?
A: As I was doing research for the book "The Conversation," what I found out is what a lot of people don't talk about. The number one thing couples argue about is money. Dealing with the issue of money can be transformative in terms of our own personal relationships and our own lives.
Q: What is the biggest financial mistake people make?
A: The number one biggest financial mistake people make is carrying any type of credit card debt. It is a crippling type of debt. It locks you up in ways that are catastrophic. Sometimes it gets to a point where you can’t get yourself out from under it and you pay the minimum from month to month. Credit cards were invented for convenience and then they became a profit tool once we started spending money we didn’t have and started carrying a balance. The folks who gave you that card want you to pay the minimum. They don’t have the incentive to help you get out from under that debt.
Q: What is one key thing anyone can do in this economy, regardless of the amount of his or her finances, to put themselves in a better financial position?
A: Even if you are living check-to-check, make a budget, a very clear concise budget, where you lay everything out in its own individual category. Once you do that, you can start to move things around. Even given the same amount of money, you can begin to move around your spending. There is a way to be strategic about it.
Event Preview -- Book Signing and Q & A
"The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in its Place," by Hill Harper (Gotham Books, $26). 7 p.m. Wednesday. Free. Barnes & Noble, 2900 Peachtree Road N.E. www.barnesandnoble.com. 404-261-7747.
About the Author
