Television Shows That Teach Bad Financial Habits

By: Jennifer L. Lopez

Sometimes these things should come with a warning label…

In our modern culture, television has had a lasting impression on our collective psyche and what we do in our own lives.  And with the advent of so-called reality television at the end of the 20^th century, the fascination with actual people’s lives versus contrived characters has grown.  It is no wonder that we are seeing the demise of the once popular soap opera dramas—who need soap operas when we get real life soap operas in the form of reality TV?

Just as soap operas in their heyday began to teach viewers some ill conceived concepts about living unrealistically lavish and dramatic lifestyles, so have reality TV shows, despite their supposed realism.  Since this website is about financial matters, we would like to highlight a few shows that may lead people on the path to financial ruin if caution is not taken.

• TLC’s The Lottery Changed My Life—This show would seem to be an uplifting look at when life takes a positive turn.  However, the chances of most individuals actually ending up on this show due to a big lottery win are so minimal that it is probably a gamble better left untaken.  The concern with this show is that it may inadvertently encourage a false optimism and cause people to spend a lifetime in lottery tickets trying to strike that big win.  For most people, the money wasted on lottery tickets is better spent collecting interest in a bank account.  To TLC’s credit, some portrayals do show the darker side of a lottery win and how it actually can cause adverse results.  But to those viewers already prone to gambling, a show like this can simply encourage them further.

Lesson: Wilson Mizner said, “Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing from something.”  Spend less on fruitless gambling, and spend more on solid investing.

• TLC’s Extreme Couponing—This show has becoming wildly popular, and has its share of fans and foes.  Though the premise of showing devoted individuals who are saving money by utilizing coupons is a good one, a closer look at the show can suggest something different.  Extreme couponers are shown hoarding unimaginable amounts of food, toiletries, and other resources, spending hours per day gathering coupons (even in dumpsters, if need be), and having to do group shopping with friends to enable them to obtain the items they get either cheap or free.  This show ends up being a bad lesson in encouraging hoarding behavior and buying much more than one person can realistically use, not to mention sometimes using questionable procedures to take advantage of the system.  No household needs dozens of bottles of mustard or Maalox.  Additionally, this can become an expensive behavior, as one extreme couponer explained how she refused to get rid of her “stockpile”, so they had to transport it across the country during a move.

Lesson: Use coupons on items that you normally buy, buy in bulk as you have reasonable space to store it and ability to use it, use only ethical procedures to obtain discounts, and avoid hoarding tendencies by only bringing in what you need, even if it is free.

• Bride Shows (E! Entertainment’s Bridalplasty/ WE’s My Fair Wedding/ TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress/ WE’s Bridezillas)—It’s hard to know where to start with these shows, but the bridal/wedding reality shows have encouraged some really negative behavior on various levels.  Bridalplasty, for example, covers women that want to get elective surgical procedures prior to their wedding day.  Bridezillas covers bad bridal behavior to the extreme.  And both My Fair Wedding and Say Yes to the Dress pay homage to women spending ridiculous amounts on the perfect wedding and dress with no regard to reason.  These shows encourage a lot of materialism in regards to nuptials, and make viewers think that spending exorbitant amounts on a wedding and its preparations (including plastic surgery, if need be) is normal and acceptable.  Behavior like this in real life can lead to debt before a bride even hits the alter.

Lesson: Getting married is about a relationship, not spending money like it is going out of style on surgical procedures, dresses that will only be worn once for a few hours, or celebrity-worthy wedding ceremonies.  Wise planning prior to marriage can help to build a strong financial future, and to ensure that you are getting hitched to the one you love, not debt that will drag you down for years to come.

• Big Family Shows (TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting/ Kate Plus 8 / Table For 12/ Quints By Surprise)—These shows cause us to stop and marvel at how these parents handle all of the children, but the bigger marvel is how they afford all of these children.  The financial implications of large families in this day and age are great, and what used to be a necessity or asset must now be questioned for its financial feasibility.  It is a fact that more and more couples are utilizing fertilization techniques that encourage or increase pregnancies, and though we cannot confirm if any were used by the families featured in these shows, it can encourage viewers to consider it as an option in order to get the large family or multiples they desire.  The procedures in themselves are expensive, not to mention the costs of having and caring for the children.  Shows that portray abnormally large families may inadvertently cause people prone to excess to attempt to emulate, and many people do not have the adequate financial resources to provide for such a large clan.  Additionally, if we think back to the Octomom situation a few years ago or the very public breakup of Jon and Kate, the desire to have continually more children may not always be in the best interests of the children themselves.

Lesson: Children are a blessing, and each family must determine how many they desire to have and can afford to support financially and emotionally.  It is always important to remember that children are not collectibles, so the decision to have children should be a thoughtful one.

Though these reality TV shows can be a source of harmless entertainment, it is prudent to remember why such people and such situations are being featured on TV: because they are abnormal.  The reality for most of us would not be spectacular enough to fill a show week after week, but these topics and scenarios are picked because they are different, and because of that, fascinating.  However, for those that don’t understand the difference between reality shows and real life, I sure wish that all of these shows would carry warning labels.