I just watched the second Oprah “Debt Diet” show. I continue to be struck with how these folks are in denial. They have all this top quality help and they still aren’t taking it very seriously. They are acting like children who don’t like the adult telling them what to do. I don’t think they’ve truly come to terms with the mess that they are in.
I am so happy that Oprah is doing this. Statistically, the light bulb is going to go off in some percentage of her audience’s heads. Just like people who browse these personal finance blogs and decide to make a change for the better, Oprah will also have this effect. (And the sheer mass of viewers make her show far more of an impact than these blogs).
My wife and I sat here together and watched the show this evening. Earlier this week, I used the online Tivo scheduling just to be sure we didn’t miss the show. (First time I’ve ever Tivo’d Oprah). I wish the show was 3 hours long. It’s fascinating to me to watch these families. When I see them, I see similiarities to so many people I know. I know that I don’t have the experience that these “experts” that are on Oprah do, but I do know that I could generate a plan like this for some of my friends to help get them straightened out, but unfortunately, our society doesn’t talk about money openly. I can’t just walk over to my neighbors and say, “Hey, based on our situations, I think I might know a bit more about how to get you financially secure than you do, and I’m here to help.” I’d probably risk getting popped in the mouth. So, I will sit here silently and just hope that they happen to catch the Oprah show, or some other experience causes them to look within themselves and realize that they are their own worst financial enemy.
I still think back to the 20 year old kid that came to me and asked me for some financial advice awhile back. He just soaked up what I had to tell him. He was hungry for some of the most general financial information because he had never had an opportunity to learn it from his parents or his schools. Simple things like compound interest, the rule of 72, dollar cost averaging, spend less than you make, pay yourself first, and never carry a credit card balance.
All these material things that we continue to amass just saddle us and take away our options in life both today and tomorrow. The 22″ “bling bling” wheels for your car that cost $4000 aren’t going to take care of you when you are old and sick. The $2000 car stereo system isn’t going to change your Depends diaper when you are 90. The 5 vacations you take each year aren’t going to pay for your housing when you are too old to make a living. The $3000 big screen TV isn’t going to feed you when you are 80 and hungry. $250 sun glasses? They’re just going to break. Do $250 sunglasses offer you 10 times the benefits of a $25 pair? Are they 10 times easier to find when you lose them? Are they 10 times less likely to break when you sit your big butt on them in the car?
Okay. I’ll stop.