Why do people watch "Extreme Spending" reality shows?

[Deleted]

DH had a show on over the weekend about mega-yachts and zillion-dollar cabins with spectacular views- that sort of thing.  I find that I can't watch them.  What we have is more than I ever dreamed of, and I really don't want the headaches of maintaining a yacht or a second home or an airplane- but when I watch those shows I feel poor by comparison and a little jealous.  I don't either feeling, I guess, so I don't watch them.
 
There's supposed to be all this antipathy towards the rich- how they got that way by cheating, by exploiting workers, by offshoring jobs, etc.- so why are shows about how they spend their money so popular? 

[greeniis10]

I don't know, either.  I can't watch shows like that, not due to jealously but because the extravagance just doesn't interest me.  Even on HGTV I don't like the shows that have unlimited budgets and can do whatever they want.  I like the ones with budgets and spending limits.  They are realistic and I can learn from those.

[Otto the Orange]

I guess it comes down to different people enjoy different things

for the life of me I can't see how the kardasians got famous after a sex tape, but whatevs

But I am with you, I don't get those shows either

[justme]

There's supposed to be all this antipathy towards the rich- how they got that way by cheating, by exploiting workers, by offshoring jobs, etc.- so why are shows about how they spend their money so popular?

Because the antipathy is really jealousy at what they have, but if we say they got it a bad way at least we have the moral high ground over them while they're sitting on their yacht?

[Tiny]

Maybe the enjoyment of the show depends on what you tend to 'daydream' about -- ie if you put yourself into the 'Hero's' shoes and if you like that kinda stuff...

I remember, a long time ago (like back in the 90's) a bunch of co-workers gushing over how wonderful it would be to live in a 'mansion' - all those rooms, an indoor swimming pool (or whatever) and All I could think about was how much 'work' all that would be - even if I was only 'supervising'/dealing with a single person who I paid to run the household and take care of all the day to day crap.    I guess I had too good of an idea of what it takes to keep a mansion running AND I knew I hated supervising people.

I have a hard time suspending disbelief (or daydreaming) - about something like 'living in a mansion' or any of the other "reality" type things that are presented as entertainment on TV... for some reason my sense of reality keeps pulling me out of the fantasy...

Now, SciFi or Fantasy type shows - I'm good with - I can easily suspend disbelief (as long as I get the feeling that the story is happening NOT in our reality... if they try to make it too much like it's happening in actual reality (conspiracy theory kinda stuff) I loose interest and can't suspend disbelief.

[Peace Of Mind]

I can honestly tell you that if I won the lottery I would not want a lifestyle like that so I don't get it.  That lifestyle looks like a lot of work and a lot of people have to be up your butt.  I'm social enough and we all get together often in large groups but that constant having to be around a lot of people and taking care of all those things and the staff needed for the upkeep and always having to go, go, go would stress me out.  I also find those opulent large homes gaudy and not intimate which is what I prefer.

I don't watch very much TV nor do I care for reality type shows but that one would not bother me.  I can still admire the gorgeous homes and places they go and live vicariously through them from the comforts of my humble and very quiet abode. 

[reader79]

There's supposed to be all this antipathy towards the rich- how they got that way by cheating, by exploiting workers, by offshoring jobs, etc.- so why are shows about how they spend their money so popular?

Because 'there's supposed to be' - but there really isn't? I don't hold success against anyone. Maybe the disdain is for those who they feel didn't earn it, like inherited wealth or lottery winners.

Frankly, if one of my goals is to be in that position one day, then it would be hypocritical of me to knock that lifestyle. Or to suggest taxing it extra, etc. But I do have to admit that I still wouldn't want to go larger than I could maintain myself should the money dry up - that is in regards to homes, cars, boats, tigers, whatever. I can't see buying a $30 million home that costs tens of thousands a month to maintain.

[bean29]

The local home section yesterday cover feature was a 6,000+ house built in an existing exclusive subdivision where the owners bought a lot where a house had been removed to build new. 

Inside they featured a builder's model of something like 3300 sq ft.  I commented to DH that few people in our area would even be able to afford that large a house.  DH and I could stretch for the 3300 sq ft. But I will not consider it.  DD is a junior and then we will be dealing with empty nest syndrom.  our 2070sq foot ranch will have to do.    If somethings not working the solution has to fit withing the existing footprint ie. new furniture, get rid of clutter, etc.  When we were finishing the basement I got rid of lots of old documents.  My shredder is my friend.  We don't need 20 years of utility bills and bank statements.  You only need to keep stuff that goes to basis of property.  Tax returns can be audited 3 years from date of filing after that you can shred them.  I kept 4 years and shredded most of the rest.

I am always amazed at the people buying Island property and Paris etc?  One wonders how people afford the travel, how they keep up with absentee maintenance etc.  It would not be for me.

[dannylion]

Because nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste (or common sense) of the American people. 

There was a program some years ago on BBC about a sort of competition among big-spending Britons.  None of the participants was particularly appealing, in fact they were all rather awful.  I thought the whole thing was rather sad.  Here's a link to a description:

Britain's Biggest Spenders

I think the program might be available on YouTube. 

[Nazgul Girl]

   For me, it's just Pure D amazement, tinged with a little envy.   I have been amazed by some of the tasteless edifices that some have erected to their glory, and laughed at people who play golf off of the deck of their yachts.   I enjoy programs about historic families rather than the newly rich, who are much funnier.

   I often wonder how soon the super-rich with the spending problems will run out of money.   Some never will, but others, well.   Millionaire Matchmaker has had some pretty pathetic specimens of so-called " millionaires " ( well, just barely, in some cases ), and the hostess, Patti Stanger, hitches them up with people she doesn't even check for criminal records.   Wowee.

[cronewitch]

I lived near Beverly Hill in the mid 60's as a broke teen. I saw the mansions and decided I didn't want one even if I got one free i couldn't afford to maintain it.

Now I look at homes I might love but still don't want to maintain them. I would love a waterfront home on 20 acres with cathedral ceilings. But I don't want to spend the money for a new roof or replacing the dock or fencing it. I might sell my house and move some place smaller with less property just not to have to mow that much lawn. I might try hiring out lawn care and house cleaning but then I have to find people and make sure they are doing it.

I like to see the beautiful places and things but don't want them.

[Nazgul Girl]

    We watched the same show about the cabins, Athena.   My favorite was the mogul in Tennessee who had built the Log Mahal for $ 7,000,000, and was fussing about whether to put a urinal in his fake wild west men's bathroom off of the bar area.   It's one of the ugliest structures I've ever seen, stuffed with animal heads and cartoony cowboys and advertisements on the walls.   The whole house looks like an 80's bed and breakfast crossed with a vision of a cowboy carnival.   Nothing says class like mauve  with logs.  

    He and the wife are going to build an even bigger one starting very soon.   I wonder who will buy the $ 7m monstrosity ? 

    See the video link below. 

   www.travelchannel.com/video/log-palace-of-the-wild-west

Unfortunately, the video doesn't show all of the "highlights."   I think I'll take that 120 ft yacht, please.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I look at these shows and think what all of that money could do for the less fortunate, the environment, the arts, struggling schools, etc.

But, then, I'm not impressed by obvious wealth.  My dream is to be one of those super wealthy women who look like a bag lady but who could easily afford to buy and maintain a small country.  

[Nazgul Girl]

    I would like to be so wealthy that I could put hundreds of poorer students through college, have a few hideaways in downtowns, have a boat that I could travel around on, but not the size of a yacht, employ people to help the economy, but not go overboard, and fund some charities for animals and other causes which I believe in.   I don't need a 17,000 sq. foot house to be happy and comfortable.   Too much !

[busymom]

There are some practical reasons for having lots of money, like not even worrying about the cost when your house needs repairs.  But I've never wanted a house that was so big that I could get lost in it. 

[Deleted]

Did any of you see that show about the couple in Florida with that place called Versailles? I had to turn it off she w bugging me so much.

[happyscooter]

How about the House Hunters episodes where they show the couple buying a house then renovating it?  The budget is $40k and they spend $20k on an interior decorator.  So of course they either go over budget or they don't get all of the areas done. 

Why do you need someone to tell you that you should paint your walls 'oatmeal' and buy blue curtains for your bedroom?

[zibazinski]

I don't know. I could totally see myself NEVER flying commercial again. I'd live to be able to afford that.

[zibazinski]

Love.

[Nazgul Girl]

   I agree on never flying commercial again.   Yes.    And the Versaille show was very creepy.    The kids were just wild.

[happyscooter]

YES on flying first class!!!

[zibazinski]

But even then, first class can be pretty awful and you still have the TSA BS.

[sheilaincali]

Zib- my BFF's DH is a private pilot for a fabulously wealthy gentleman and his family.  They are spoiled.  The wife will decide on a whim that she wants to go on a shopping trip to NYC with her friends and the husband's secretary with call up my friend and be all "Have the jet ready to go at 10:00am" and he'll fly them off to NYC and twiddle his thumbs until they are ready to come back home. 
He spent all of one summer hoping around Europe because they kept moving the yacht.  The husband is old (80's) and has significant health problems so the jet is on standby wherever he is.  So when he is on the yacht off the cost of Greece my BFF'S DH is hanging at a hotel or golfing while on standby. 

On the rare occasions that my friend will fly commercial back (like when they fly the jet somewhere to be repainted and leave it there for a couple of weeks) he hates it.  Even as the pilot he is so spoiled by the private flights that the airport makes him frustrated when he has to wait in all the stupid lines.

[Deleted]

Oct 8, 2013 7:33:45 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

But even then, first class can be pretty awful and you still have the TSA BS.

I used to love flying. Now it's something to endure to get to my destination.  DH and I are through flying Coach across the Atlantic although I agree that a lot of the BS is still there.  Most airports do have Priority TSA lines, which have saved my rear end on tight connections more than once. 

I could definitely get into having a private jet.  I took one on business from Kansas City to Des Moines and back for a meeting- what bliss.  My friends on FB jokingly asked me how many frequent flyer miles I got.  I told them I'd PAY frequent flyer miles to avoid the TSA.

[zibazinski]

Amen!

[tskeeter]

Oct 7, 2013 14:52:07 GMT -5 bean29 said:

The local home section yesterday cover feature was a 6,000+ house built in an existing exclusive subdivision where the owners bought a lot where a house had been removed to build new. 

Inside they featured a builder's model of something like 3300 sq ft.  I commented to DH that few people in our area would even be able to afford that large a house.  DH and I could stretch for the 3300 sq ft. But I will not consider it.  DD is a junior and then we will be dealing with empty nest syndrom.  our 2070sq foot ranch will have to do.    If somethings not working the solution has to fit withing the existing footprint ie. new furniture, get rid of clutter, etc.  When we were finishing the basement I got rid of lots of old documents.  My shredder is my friend.  We don't need 20 years of utility bills and bank statements.  You only need to keep stuff that goes to basis of property.  Tax returns can be audited 3 years from date of filing after that you can shred them.  I kept 4 years and shredded most of the rest.

I am always amazed at the people buying Island property and Paris etc?  One wonders how people afford the travel, how they keep up with absentee maintenance etc.  It would not be for me.

Bean, start keeping a few more years of tax returns.  Tax returns can be audited for three years.  However, if the IRS finds anything in those three years, they can go back and audit an additional four years of returns, for a total of seven years.  Given how complicated tax regulations are, what is the chance there aren't any mistakes or rule interpretations that can be questioned by the IRS in three years of tax returns?

By the way, when you watch TV shows about people buying vacation property, listen for the quick comments that imply that the finances only make sense because the buyer plans to rent out the property when they are not using it.  Basically, they are gambling that the rental income will cover most of the payments.  I wonder how many of those people still have the property and think they made a good decision in five or 10 years?