Jessica Jinkens: Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford

One of the best things about running this site is reviewing all of the reader submissions. You folks send me tons of links and story ideas. But in the past three years, there’s one item that you have submitted more than any other. Every month several people forward a Saturday Night Live skit called “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford”.

I’ve never been able to share this video on Get Rich Slowly, though, because it’s under copyright, and NBC has kept a tight rein on it. Now, though, they’ve released it on Hulu, and at last I can share it with those of you haven’t seen it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford”:

Wife: I just can’t get these numbers to add up.
Husband: Like we’re never going to get out of this hole.
Wife: Credit card debt, does it ever end?
Salesman: [entering from who-knows-where] Maybe I can help.
Husband: We sure could use it.
Wife: We’ve tried debt consolidation companies.
Husband: We’ve even taken out loans to help make payments.
Salesman: Well, you’re not the only one. Did you know that millions of Americans live with debt they can not control? That’s why I developed this unique new program for managing your debt. [Holds up book] It’s called, “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford”
Wife: Let me see that. [Reading from book] If you don’t have any money, you should not buy anything. Hmmm…sounds interesting.
Husband: Sounds confusing.
Wife: I don’t know honey, this makes a lot of sense. There’s a whole section here on how to buy expensive things using money you’ve “saved”.
Husband: Give me that. And where do you get this “saved” money?

Smart personal finance really is that simple — but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. I often say that money is more about mind than it is about math. That is, we all understand that we ought not buy things we cannot afford. But knowing this and doing it are two different things.

This is a funny skit with a solid message. I’m glad to finally be able to share it. (But now you can all stop e-mailing me about this clip!)

—
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly: