Show me the money - young family

just a quick one............on show with money problems (not able to sort his own money out) and gets a job giving advice about money to other people.Would you be a bit nervous about this????
 
oll said:
just a quick one............on show with money problems (not able to sort his own money out) and gets a job giving advice about money to other people.Would you be a bit nervous about this????
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It's ironic alright.

I also think that although her decision to stay at home should be respected,
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There still would be no need for external childcare for the children if she worked evenings/weekends while he looked after the kids.
 
Read a TV critic in the Sunday Times having a real go at the participants in the series, describing them as complete idiots the type that would leave a cigarette burning and burn down the house. It was very insulting towards people trying to make ends meet. The finance on SMTM isn't rocket science but its attraction is the story of the people I think, how they have behaved badly in the past, how they react to the revelation of just what circumstances they are in and how they fight to replace old habits with new. Its an age old story. I still find SMTM a good watch and its still pulling large audiences for RTE, the highest factual programme I think.

There's a lot that could be done to sharpen up the programme but some of the more extreme criticism sounds a lot like prentiuos snobbery to me about working classes.
 
I enjoy the show but I think I could almost host it myself at this stage the advice is usually so monotonous.

CONSOLIDATE YOUE DEBT!
 
Covenant said:
.. but its attraction is the story of the people I think, how they have behaved badly in the past, how they react to the revelation of just what circumstances they are in ..
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Financial makeover programs are to today what domestic living makeovers were to 3 years ago. Is Eddie Hobbs the new Carol Smilie or the new Handy Andy ?

My wife was telling me about a program she saw on UK TV yesterday. Something along the lines of bring in 'pretend bailiffs' to someone with debt and seeing how much disposal of their assets would yield.

The guy featured yesterday had over £100,000 of credit card debt on lifestyle spending (why would someone need 2 iPods ?) and was defensive about how things had got so far out of control. As far as I could gather, the mock disposal of his assets yielded pocket change, probably less than next month's credit card minimum payment, or interest !
 
Hi Kazbah,

See I think SMTM is not a money program but a human behaviour program. The thing that gets peoples attention is how those on the program manage and not the financial side of it which as you point out is often extremely simple. But if simplicity is always the solution try to explain why hundreds of thousands of Irish people can't repay their debt - only 50% of credit cards are cleared each month and debt is rapidly rising. Are they all idiots as painted on the Sunday Times, irresponsible, ignorant, low intelligence, not the type to go on-line and chit chat with the highly informed on AAM as we like to think of ourselves?
 
I think a lot of them are living in the ignornace is bliss camp. They are aware that they are in debt but in denial. They don't want so sit down and see it all totalled up in black and white. Head in the sand syndrome
 
kazbah said:
I think a lot of them are living in the ignornace is bliss camp.
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True. I lived there for a few years myself. Even convinced myself (despite working in the software industry at the time and knowing there was no chance of it happening) that the millennium bug would wipe out my credit card debt. It's amazing what your mind can do
 
i think in some cases its not so much ignorance is bliss - it's more that some people are just too scared to face up to the enormity of their debt. they can't bear to open the bills, let alone sit down and work out how they can be repaid. For them they are just looking at the outstanding figure and see no light at the end of the tunnel. Thats why a program which could show somebody dealing with debt by working out what they need to live on, how much they can afford to pay, contacting and talking to their creditors would help and encourage others to deal with their own debt.
 
These threads have identified a couple of pertinent things about these programmes: (a) taking a sober educational approach to dealing with the financial problems of the subjects might not be entertaining enough to draw in the viewers and (b) it's better from an entertainment point of view to take a bit of a "let's laugh at the freaks" approach. That's showbiz folks...!
 
Ah yes, lucky for all us AAM folks who have our act together. I wonder what's the financial equivalent of "smug married"
 
I would say that the fact people log onto AAm doesn't preclude them from making mistakes about money as otherwise there wouldn't be so many queries relating to the exact type of circumstances seen in these programs.
I wouldn't call the participants eejits just because they havn't all their money problems sorted out. Often people need the insight from a person who isn't emotionally attached to the situation to come in and offer solutions. It is great that people are willing to participate as it may give hope to other in the same situation whichhas to be good.

Just wish they would go into more detail along the lines of the Alvin Hall or the Spendaholics programs that the BBC do so well.
 
tiger said:
Ah yes, lucky for all us AAM folks who have our act together. I wonder what's the financial equivalent of "smug married"
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The number of people who post here with serious debt problems should disabuse you of the idea that everybody here is in a cushy financial situation. And I'm sure that others who do have their finances under control have learned lessons from previous mistakes and financial problems.
 

True, but none the less I have been surprised with some of the disapproving comments so far:

I also think they had a lot of debt but still seemed to rent very nice places (Tiger: it was new, and out in co. Wicklow somewhere)

The husband struck me as unfocused and either unaware of his responsibilities towards his family or unwilling to take them up

I too was surprised that Natalie was not recommended to make some effort to contribute financially to the household. (Tiger:with no qualifications or experience & 2 young kids to be looked after?)

it looked like they want it all but didnt put the effort in to pay for it all

It sounds like they are trying to live a fairytale life without a grounding in reality.

Why not sell the car and buy a clunker? (Tiger:The car appeared to be a 99 reg)

(Edited to better highlight my comments to quotes above)
 
Seems to me that some of those comments are reasonable enough and contain some prudent suggestions/observations.
 
Did we know that she had no qualifications/experience?
Anyway I don't think that would stand in her way for working a couple of evenings a week in a bar/shop or working from the home eg childminding, ironing.....
 
ClubMan said:
Seems to me that some of those comments are reasonable enough and contain some prudent suggestions/observations.
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Yes, yes, yes. But did you think my hair looked good?

Sarah
 
ClubMan said:
Seems to me that some of those comments are reasonable enough and contain some prudent suggestions/observations.
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Fair enough, we're clearly of different opinions then.

kazbah said:
Did we know that she had no qualifications/experience?
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No. She was in her early/mid twenties and was looking after two kids, before that according to Eddie she had worked in a no. of different European countries. (Eddie didn't say doing what, I would guess something along the lines of au pairing). If she was to start working now, I would think it would be for something close to the minimum wage.
 
You did Clubman, she was with the group interviewing the young man! Sarah your hair looked fab
 
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