Ed McMahon and Lessons in Home Economics
What do you hear from Ed McMahon lately? If you've been following the news, you may have heard about his recent appearance on CNN's Larry King Live, when the professional celebrity sidekick/emcee/pitchman, along with his wife Pamela, was on with Larry to discuss, among other things, his financial woes.
It seems that McMahon has found himself $644,000 in arrears on the near-$5 million mortgage loan pressed against his Beverly Hills home.
While McMahon cited three principal reasons as to why he's in such dire straits...
the economy, poor health, and personal mismanagement...
a few things said by McMahon and spouse were, I thought, especially telling.
At one point, when asked how these kinds of problems could befall a millionaire, McMahon's wife Pamela said, "We didn't keep our eye on the ball.
We made mistakes.
It's embarrassing to say the least, and it's said, because you know, Ed's worked his whole entire life.
" As for McMahon himself, he said, "If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens.
" Yup, Ed, I do.
What I am having a difficult time understanding is when you cite that maxim in a fashion that suggests you've known it all along, why did you violate it? Ed can point to the economy and poor health, but I'm not buying either of these reasons for his troubles.
The economy, for one thing, is only a factor to a millionaire if the millionaire has been living beyond his millionaire means.
Same with "poor health;" unless your poor health is evidenced in the form of a long, drawn-out battle against a life-threatening illness, a mega-rich man doesn't get a pass on that basis, either.
It's when Ed alluded to financial carelessness that methinks he hit the nail dead-on.
My long-held view of the foreclosure "crisis" is not popular in an America that embraces entitlement and eschews personal responsibility.
I happily blame the victim here.
It's not entirely fair or accurate...
there are those who face foreclosure after a run of genuine misfortune, and I have actually known a few of those souls personally...
but almost always, I seem to have it right, as does any other reasonably objective observer with at least half a brain.
In this way, Ed is no different from anyone else.
Like so many in this country, Ed apparently feels he "deserves" to live a certain way or have certain things...
but life as a consumer is not about deservedness; it's about the ability to afford that which you want, with your consumerist desires tempered by prudence and a rainy day plan...
a profile that should be infinitely easier to achieve for a guy who's made millions than it is for the rest of us.
In one sense, it's easy to feel sorry for a friendly, familiar 85-year-old face framed in a neck brace and facing foreclosure.
However, when that 85-year-old face belongs to Ed McMahon, who has seen more money during his lifetime than everyone I've ever known put together, the sympathy becomes a little tougher to locate.
There is a financial lesson here to go along with the tongue-lashing about personal responsibility.
Unfortunately, this financial lesson, simple though it is, seems difficult for so many to learn because it crosses swords with three of modern American society's greatest ills: a sense of entitlement, a lust for instinctual gratification, and a discarding of personal responsibility.
Financial planning is a lot more about planning than it is about money, and the most functional part of a good plan is the part where you actually stick to it.
I and others who work in the business of money management can help people all day long with good ideas, but in the end, the essential Part B of succeeding with a plan is to actually follow it.
Ed McMahon is on the brink of foreclosure for the same reason as so many others, millionaires or not; because when he had to make choices between "less" and "more," he chose "more.
" In my experience in the financial services business, far too many people with whom I've dealt have been singularly interested in just how far they can stretch their incomes to buy this or that...
be it houses, cars, or anything else.
Until more Americans execute a 180-degree away from this sort of financial wrongheadedness, this problem will only continue to grow...
as will the misery that never fails to appear as its faithful companion.
The garbage about the responsibility for the foreclosure crisis rightfully being placed exclusively at the feet of so-called predatory lenders is just that, garbage.
That component of this mess has simply been overblown by a citizenry eager to look elsewhere, other than into their own mirrors, for a culprit.
As for dear Ed, here's hoping he's still not too old of a dog to finally learn some new tricks.
What about you?
It seems that McMahon has found himself $644,000 in arrears on the near-$5 million mortgage loan pressed against his Beverly Hills home.
While McMahon cited three principal reasons as to why he's in such dire straits...
the economy, poor health, and personal mismanagement...
a few things said by McMahon and spouse were, I thought, especially telling.
At one point, when asked how these kinds of problems could befall a millionaire, McMahon's wife Pamela said, "We didn't keep our eye on the ball.
We made mistakes.
It's embarrassing to say the least, and it's said, because you know, Ed's worked his whole entire life.
" As for McMahon himself, he said, "If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens.
" Yup, Ed, I do.
What I am having a difficult time understanding is when you cite that maxim in a fashion that suggests you've known it all along, why did you violate it? Ed can point to the economy and poor health, but I'm not buying either of these reasons for his troubles.
The economy, for one thing, is only a factor to a millionaire if the millionaire has been living beyond his millionaire means.
Same with "poor health;" unless your poor health is evidenced in the form of a long, drawn-out battle against a life-threatening illness, a mega-rich man doesn't get a pass on that basis, either.
It's when Ed alluded to financial carelessness that methinks he hit the nail dead-on.
My long-held view of the foreclosure "crisis" is not popular in an America that embraces entitlement and eschews personal responsibility.
I happily blame the victim here.
It's not entirely fair or accurate...
there are those who face foreclosure after a run of genuine misfortune, and I have actually known a few of those souls personally...
but almost always, I seem to have it right, as does any other reasonably objective observer with at least half a brain.
In this way, Ed is no different from anyone else.
Like so many in this country, Ed apparently feels he "deserves" to live a certain way or have certain things...
but life as a consumer is not about deservedness; it's about the ability to afford that which you want, with your consumerist desires tempered by prudence and a rainy day plan...
a profile that should be infinitely easier to achieve for a guy who's made millions than it is for the rest of us.
In one sense, it's easy to feel sorry for a friendly, familiar 85-year-old face framed in a neck brace and facing foreclosure.
However, when that 85-year-old face belongs to Ed McMahon, who has seen more money during his lifetime than everyone I've ever known put together, the sympathy becomes a little tougher to locate.
There is a financial lesson here to go along with the tongue-lashing about personal responsibility.
Unfortunately, this financial lesson, simple though it is, seems difficult for so many to learn because it crosses swords with three of modern American society's greatest ills: a sense of entitlement, a lust for instinctual gratification, and a discarding of personal responsibility.
Financial planning is a lot more about planning than it is about money, and the most functional part of a good plan is the part where you actually stick to it.
I and others who work in the business of money management can help people all day long with good ideas, but in the end, the essential Part B of succeeding with a plan is to actually follow it.
Ed McMahon is on the brink of foreclosure for the same reason as so many others, millionaires or not; because when he had to make choices between "less" and "more," he chose "more.
" In my experience in the financial services business, far too many people with whom I've dealt have been singularly interested in just how far they can stretch their incomes to buy this or that...
be it houses, cars, or anything else.
Until more Americans execute a 180-degree away from this sort of financial wrongheadedness, this problem will only continue to grow...
as will the misery that never fails to appear as its faithful companion.
The garbage about the responsibility for the foreclosure crisis rightfully being placed exclusively at the feet of so-called predatory lenders is just that, garbage.
That component of this mess has simply been overblown by a citizenry eager to look elsewhere, other than into their own mirrors, for a culprit.
As for dear Ed, here's hoping he's still not too old of a dog to finally learn some new tricks.
What about you?