Oprah Debt Diet

Do you watch Oprah? ABC reruns it late at night here and I happened to catch an episode last night. She had on couples who had made a disaster out of their finances. These are people that earn a substantive amount of money and still wind up living check to check.

After one of the couples, people that were living well beyond their means, had done some things to clean up their act - the consolidated cell phones, got rid of three of their five cars, traded their piano for a cheaper one, returned their 50+ inch TV, cut their cable back to extended basic - Oprah praised them as being "an example to everyone."

What? These people are the example?

I understand that a lot of people live beyond their means. The show detailed it at 70% of Americans. But people that wrest control of their out of control spending and lazy financial maintenance are the example?

How about the 30% that didn't dig themselves the hole in the first place? Aren't they the example?

For some reason in this culture we always celebrate the reformed fuck up more than we do the person that traveled the straight line to begin with. Bizarre.

So, if you are out there planning what you can afford before you spend your money - you people, the responsible 30% - There Are No Bad Ideas salutes you as an example to the rest of us. Go to Best Buy and blow $50. You deserve the treat.

(Blow enough money maybe Oprah will have you on the show.)