Image from http://www.slice.ca/Shows/Princess/Bio.aspx?Title_ID=251057
I often watch CNBC throughout the week and about two months ago, I saw advertisements for a show on their weekend lineup. Along with The Suze Orman Show, they've been airing Canadian network Slice's series "Princess" on Saturday nights. I decided to DVR it simply on the title alone, not knowing for sure what the show was about.
Now, I watch way too many shows but I had to add this one to the lineup after the first episode that I saw. The show follows Jamaican-Canadian financial expert Gail Vaz-Oxlade as she attempts to help young women (sometimes men) in dire need of financial guidance. Often, their family, friends and/or partners have written to the show asking for Gail's help. These "princesses" (hence the show's title) have been preying on the kindness, weak hearts and bank accounts of those around them and their benefactors have had enough.
I was amazed from the first show how entitled these chicadees feel. Every week though, the princesses they showcase are more and more extravagant. I mean some of these chicks are thousands of dollars in debt, have no job or make around/less than $30K a/yr (and I'm not sure if that's in Canadian money) and some of them have the audacity to hire car services to cart them around as they spend the money that their boyfriends and sometimes parents have TWO JOBS to earn. Now, I get that these are extreme cases but still, you cannot help but be stunned when Gail uses the computer and projector to illustrate in flat out language and pictures just how bad their financial situations are with the princess and her loved ones standing around her. Sometimes, they have no actual idea of the whole situation and their parents are usually left stunned knowing the severity of the hole their child is in. Gail lists their standing debt, along with current salary and will show them on a pie chart what percentage they are spending their money on.
The most intriguing part is when she shows them what percentage of their salary they are spending every month on frivolous needs (often this is like 150% - 250% because they are spending other peoples money as well), how much they need to make to pay back their debt and finally how much they need to pay back the debt and live the way they have been living. For one princess who was making less than $15K/yr (I forget how much exactly), she would have needed to make somewhere in the area of $150+ (again, I forget how much exactly) to live how she's been living and pay back her debt.
Gail will then take away their credit cards and put the princess on a cash diet. Then she will issue various exercises that the princesses desperately need to do to alleviate their financial situation. These activities include finding a or a new job, attitude adjustment, taking on responsibilities around the home or in the community, a give back challenge (to those the princess has been relying on for $) and set goals challenge (life and career goals and creating budget to sustain it). Depending on how well they perform throughout the weeks long project, Gail will decide if they will receive part or all of the $5,000 reward to help payback their debt.
It's amusing to watch Gail push these chicks off of cloud 9 and see the princesses join the rest of us in the real world. Their often disgusted by having to clean rather than hire someone else to do it, learn to go to work and cook for themselves, figure out how to budget the cash she gave them to use during the week(which is usually between $20 - $70 depending on the princess' lifestyle) to use on food and other small expenses and sometimes make them think, yes truly think, about their future career and life goals.
On a more serious note though, the show sheds light on the financial mess and debt that so many young people are accumulating. They are chasing an image and lifestyle that they cannot afford and are struggling with the aftermath like a lot of 20 to 40 yr olds now face. Though I myself am not in a situation like these young people are, I sometimes take away a lesson or two.
Image from http://www.cnbc.com/id/43294838/Princess
Of the episodes I've seen so far, Gail usually manages to get some wisdom through these princess' invisible tiaras but every once in a while, she comes upon a princess who just DOESN'T get it. Meet Ashley C. From all appearances, this is one fierce fabulista. She stood out to me because she's a sistah, her hair is on point, her fashion is tight, she's in good shape. She has no job yet lives in a condo or apartment in gorgeous high rise with stainless steel everything, granite countertops and great décor that a cleaning crew comes in maintains for her. She hires a car on the weekends to chauffeur her around and everything.
But turns out, she's not as fabulous as she initially seems. She's $45K in debt at only 23yrs young, her parents and boyfriend all work and give HER an allowance every week that she breezes through. Her boyfriend owns a construction company and works hard yet has no money because his money funds HER lifestyle. After Gail does her financial analysis on Ashley's situation, it turns out Ashley is going into debt at about $4K monthly and would need like $115K (mind you she has NO job) in order to pay her debt back and maintain her lifestyle.
This is one of Gail's prissiest princesses yet and did not take well to Gail's program initially. Let's just say.......Ashley JUST DIDN'T GET IT. If you have an opportunity to, check out an episode. Princess airs on Saturday evenings on CNBC at 10pm EST.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43294838
http://www.slice.ca/Shows/Princess/default.aspx?Title_ID=251057
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