I’m tired of being asked to front thousands in business expenses on my personal credit card

Finally, you should not feel shame or any need to justify being unable or unwilling to cover your employer’s expenses. People with spotless credit scores and fat savings cushions are the exception in this country, and while poor money management is a popular scapegoat, many other causes are beyond individual control, including medical expenses; unemployment; rising cost of living; and decades of redlining, predatory lending, and other economic practices that have disproportionately targeted and depleted the wealth of generations of Black and Latino communities. Those of us with the luck or resources to have avoided or overcome those obstacles can still empathize with those who have not, but sometimes we need a nudge from someone in a position to speak truth to privilege.