9 Hollywood Characters That Are Bad Financial Role Models

Hollywood sets out a highly influential role placing the values and fashion trends within our society. Walt Disney had this to say, ‘Movies do and have a huge influence in modelling young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and aims of normal adulthood.”

You should not look up to the following nine movie or television show characters as your financial role model since they are unrealistic and reckless with their finances.

Bad Financial Role Models #1: Carrie Bradshaw

She needs no introduction because Carrie Bradshaw is watched by every girl who loves “Sex in the City”. As the main character of the television show and the movie series, she is the worst at managing her finances. She fancies buying designer shoes like Jimmy Choos.

She gets involved in constant retail therapy to draw men to her, a breakup, an argument or her failure as a writer. Since she knows that her friends will come to her rescue from any disaster she gets herself into, she does not stop shopping even though she cannot afford it. Once she managed to cow her friend Charlotte into giving her engagement ring to repay Carrie’s debts. That was a new low for Carrie

Bad Financial Role Models #2: Rebecca Bloomwood

Rebbecca Bloomwood is the main character from the famous Hollywood movie, ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic. As you watch the movie from the beginning to the end, you will notice that Rebecca makes all the wrong financial decisions. She spends money that she does not have on designer clothes, shoes and bags.

Rebecca used all her credit limit and so failed to pay her bills. That alone did not make her stop because even when she was unemployed, she still shopped to feel better. At one point in the movie, she offered her dead relative’s scarf to be auctioned.

Bad Financial Role Models #3: The Kardashians

Kim Kardashian, central star of the popular television series called ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’.  Should not be somebody you look up to as your financial role model. In the show, you see her spending money continuously every day without considering what types of items she is buying. She buys many clothes from designer labels, changes her cars without worrying about her finances. While the Kardashians can afford it – they have a combined net worth of $300 million – we should be more careful and sensible with our money.

Related: Investing and Money Habits of Millennials

Bad Financial Role Models #4: The Hiltons

These sisters were widely careless about their spending throughout their television series. Starring in the hit American reality show, ‘The Simple Life’, Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton and Nicole Richie despite bringing out their character in the show as adjusting to a less lavish lifestyle, went ahead to bask in lavish, rich lifestyle by overspending.

Bad Financial Role Models #5: Veruca Salt

One of the characters from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ book by Roald Dahl is Veruca Salt. She is among the children who got a chance to visit the chocolate factory by getting the golden ticket. The word ‘no’ was not in Veruca Salt’s vocabulary. She believed in getting all that she wanted, and this made her influence her father and create rifts in the house for the Golden ticket. And so she managed to get her Golden Ticket the wrong way from her father.

Bad Financial Role Models #6: Cher

Cher is known to be careless with her possessions. She spends money carelessly and does not care about her expensive cars. She parks them haphazardly, and when they are lost, she buys new ones immediately. She has a walk-in remote controlled wardrobe with clothes, shoes and accessories from out of this world.

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Bad Financial Role Models #7: Teresa Giudice

As one of the characters from ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Teresa Giudice is seen in one of the episodes manipulating her daughter to get breast implants. She put pressure on her daughter to wear designer clothes and have expensive things. She also forced her to dance, act and attend body fitness classes. This resulted in her family getting bankrupt in 2010 and later her house was held.

Bad Financial Role Models #8: Joffrey Baratheon

In the television series and novel, ‘Game of Thrones’, Joffrey Baratheon comes out as the adversary. He is portrayed as the most spoilt deviant character that is unable to control his huge urge to acquire expensive and impossible things. He spends money pushing his evil schemes throughout the series and taking possession of all the seven kingdoms.

Bad Financial Role Models #9: Cordelia Chase

Cordelia Chase is one of the characters on the classic television series, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer ‘who spends money carelessly, changes cars at all times, goes shopping with friends, parties at vampire-filled clubs and gets her nails done now and then as they keep breaking when she is trying to run away from vampires now and then.

Read: Female Investing Habits – Should You Invest in the Pink Portfolio?