 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Big Spender
- A&E
- Genre: Reality TV
Common Sense Media says
Harsh delivery masks good messages about debt.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that star Larry Winget, a financial-help guru, uses a form of tough love that is verbally harsh, caustic, and confrontational. When first meeting adults who are chronic, compulsive over-spenders, he'll say things like "It's your own damn fault," "You make stupid choices," and "You are full of crap." His strategy, which apparently works, is to "get in their faces to make them face reality." He also harshly critiques spenders who are parents on the examples they're providing for their kids. However justified his actions, Winget's method make this show inappropriate for younger teens.
What's the story?
Personal development expert/speaker/author (Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life) Larry Winget has earned his stripes. He's made fortunes, lost them, and made them again. Now he's helping others who are down in the bankruptcy dumps. Winget enters their homes, harshly confronts them on their spending habits, and gives them the hands-on tools they need to correct their ways.
Is it any good?
After the initial confrontation, Winget provides each spender with three weeks of financial boot camp. By dissecting what's coming in -- or the lack thereof -- and what's going out, he "kicks some butt" to get his subjects to change their ways. Once he's given them strategies to change their habits, he leaves, videotaping them over the next few days to see if they've, in fact, made changes. But although he does send unemployed spenders to career counseling, these folks clearly need psychological counseling, too, and that part is lacking.
There's no question that Winget's subjects need help, and he's certainly able to address their problems and suggest solutions. But his drill-sergeant-like methodology uses very harsh language language that, despite the strong message about learning to spend responsibly, makes BIG SPENDER inappropriate for younger viewers. For parents with kids off to college, Big Spender offers a chance to address what goes wrong when you spend more than you earn. But parents may want to explain that this brand of excessive overspending involves other issues -- ones that require counseling.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about responsible spending habits. For kids who are off to college or moving out of the house, it's a great chance to review spending, budgeting, balancing the checkbook, ways to cut back, ways to save, and more. Parents can demonstrate the point by calculating how much a college kid could save by making coffee each day versus buying a latte.
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
Finally,responsible reality TV
Nothing Wrong with the truth about finances.
Why are we, as Americans, comfortable watching someone establishing paternity( "who yo baby daddy" shows)but not willing to talk about how we handle our own personal finances?
Because big spender hits 2 close to home.
I say keep up the "must see TV"
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AGE
will beg my son and his wife to watch
would love to get him to come to oklahoma to help my son and wife. i have tried to help. everyone should watch this, he is very blunt but it must work
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AGE
Larry makes individuals own up to their mistakes. A no holds barred way of looking at finances and taking control of your life.
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| TV rating: | TV-PG |
| Network: | A&E |
| Cast: | Larry Winget |
| Genre: | Reality TV |
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