Who doesn’t enjoy a classic TV drama, cop show, or sitcom? Many of our favorite television characters and on-air personalities have become part of popular culture. They reflect our attitudes and values, including our views on money. Watching them can be surprisingly educational for understanding different approaches to financial matters. Here are a few examples.
Jed Clampett
The patriarch of “The Beverly Hillbillies” lived a rags-to-riches life, moving his family to Beverly Hills after striking oil on his property in the Ozarks. Despite his sudden wealth, Jed never thinks of himself as a rich man. His zip code changes, but his mindset doesn’t.
There are plenty of people like Jed who come into money suddenly. They might inherit money or get a lump-sum pension buyout that makes them wealthy but doesn’t lead to a change in attitude and lifestyle. They feel they don’t fit in with the rich folks. Their commonsense approach to spending and saving money remains the same. Their financial goals are basic and center around protecting principal and getting a reasonable return on their money.
Fred Mertz
This curmudgeon from “I Love Lucy” is Lucy and Desi’s tightwad landlord. Fred worries about money and is always pinching pennies on building repairs and living expenses. He can’t enjoy retirement and is unable to spend with confidence because he doesn’t know how long his money is going to last. Fred’s attitude and behavior are typical of a retiree who doesn’t have a retirement income plan. With a retirement income plan in place, Fred would be a much more agreeable landlord, albeit one who’s not as funny.
Spock
If you’re a fan of “Star Trek”, you know Spock is all about logic. He wants every bit of information and analyzes it all before acting. We have many clients like Spock who want to study multiple Excel spreadsheets before making financial decisions. That’s fine with us, but it becomes problematic when a spouse or significant other is driven by emotion. How often does this happen? All the time! After all, opposites attract. In these cases, the financial advisor must be a smart psychologist who convinces one party not to over-analyze the situation and use it as an excuse to postpone decision-making, while persuading the other party to dial back some of the emotion. In the end, the goal is to live long and prosper.
Gilligan
Gilligan is one of my favorite characters. He’s a friendly guy who wants to do the right thing but hasn’t had a lot of breaks in life, including financial breaks. He’s a far cry from Thurston Howell III, the character played by Jim Backus, who doesn’t let anyone on “Gilligan’s Island” underestimate his wealth.
There are a lot of Gilligans in this world and in our financial advisory practice. We don’t require clients to have a minimum asset level or net worth. Of course, we have some Howells on our client roster too. We welcome the opportunity to serve everyone.
Walter Cronkite
The broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite is remembered for his professionalism and on-air persona while anchoring the “CBS Evening News” for 19 years. I’m using Cronkite to represent investors who are caught up in the news. Today more than ever, people are swept up in the round-the-clock news cycle and sensational style of reporting. It’s tempting to react and base financial moves on the latest developments or the opinions of pundits. But this is exactly the opposite of what I advise pre-retired and retired clients to do. Pursuing long-term goals requires committing to an asset allocation strategy that works day in and day out and doesn’t involve trading individual stocks and timing the market based on the latest news feed.
Regardless of which TV character you may have identified with, it may tell you a lot about your own financial attitudes and decision-making style.
