Wanna Be Rich? Don’t Emulate These Celebrities

It is becoming more and more common to hear about the millions (and billions) of dollars famous people are making – some for doing not much of anything but being the pinup people for tabloid fodder. Average consumers often look with envy at the lifestyles of the rich and famous, wishing they too could have it all. But as the saying goes, money does not always by happiness. In fact, today it seems that in some cases the richer they are, the harder they fall. We wonder how someone with millions of dollars in the bank is now deep in debt and suddenly become headline news.

Nicolas Cage, a long-time working actor, is now selling off homes left and right to get out of debt. He, of course blames his personal financial issues on his business manager but the question has to be asked – why was he not more involved with his own money? Pam Anderson, Donald Faison (Scrubs), Aaron Carter, Sinbad, Dionne Warwick are all famous, rich people who have been indebted to the IRS, in some cases for millions of dollars. How does it happen to the well-to-do and famous and to us at the same time?

 Most likely the answer lies in the scenario of prioritizing personal finances. Those of us living paycheck to paycheck still dream big in terms of our own income capabilities but it all comes down to a person’s ability to differentiate between needs, wants, and desires. There were millions of Americans that purchased homes they essentially could not afford and lenders who loaned them the money, leading to an incredibly wide-spread housing crisis two years ago. Sure people needed a place to live but too many wanted a really cool home with all of the bells and whistles.

If we don’t identify the differences between our needs, wants, and desires, we will likely never get out of debt completely. There will always be just one more purchase we want to make before we start saving for retirement. Celebrities have even more buying power and many, like Nicholas Cage, make the mistake of passing off our money matters to someone else. Even middle class consumers often fail to really take hold of their finances and keep up with what is going on by budgeting and working to keep expenses down. Not all celebrities are careless with their cash and as a result have become even more rich and set for life.

In order to avoid debt and excessive spending, unlike some celebrities have, we need to be vigilant about managing the money we have and work towards defining our long-term goals. You may be thinking of a house to buy in the near future but you probably won’t plan to by 4 or 5 houses like some celebs do. Stick with realistic goals and forget about what everyone else has. If you really want something, save up for it and cut out impulse buying from your shopping trips. Every little bit you save adds up until one day you too can live well, be debt free, and be proud of what you have accomplished.