As we all (sadly) remember, Oprah Winfrey left her daytime talk show in 2011 to pursue her own television network OWN. This cable channel is available here in Canada, and has some very interesting original programming including Million Dollar Neighbourhood. In this series, a smaller town is chosen to decrease debt and increase the collective wealth of the participants to $1 million dollars in 10 weeks through a series of challenges set out by the show's host and financial expert. The show premiered this past Sunday, January 6 and will air weekly for the next 10 weeks. I had a chance to chat with the show's financial expert for season 2 Preet Banerjee about the show, how he got involved, and how families can change little things to make their money work.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background as a financial advisor and how you got involved in Million Dollar Neighbourhood?
Well, I have a pretty unique background. I was originally trained as a neuroscientist before a brief foray into the world of auto racing and then finally ended up in the world of finance. My focus was on financial planning and transparency about fees. I ended my full-time career in the financial services as an investment fund wholesaler for a few years before I realized I wanted more free time, not more money. I now write a personal finance column for The Globe and Mail which came about after my blog was voted Canada's number one investing blog by their readers in 2010.I regularly comment on business and personal finance in various media, including The National on CBC with Peter Mansbridge, as well as with the other main networks.
I got involved with Million Dollar Neighbourhood because I had won a reality show on The W Network in 2009, The Ultimate W Expert Search. They were looking for people with expertise in various fields to apply to see if they had what it took to be an on-air expert. They (OWN) actually asked me about hosting season one of MDN a few years ago, but at the time we were also working on another development which was further along. Since that was shelved, and the Oprah Winfrey Network in Canada is under the same umbrella as The W Network, it seemed like a natural fit for everyone.
What was it like getting the call that you’d be working for Oprah Winfrey?
I can honestly say that never in a million years would I have ever expected an opportunity like this. Getting the call was a bit surreal. It's the opportunity of a lifetime and I'm very grateful. I'm also excited to help out an entire community of 100 families. Times are tough, and people are ready for a re-think about how we deal with money and financial decisions.
Money is a tricky subject for many people—what do you find are the biggest obstacles families face when putting their finances in order?
Personal finance is very much like personal fitness. We already know what we have to do to get in better shape. We have to eat better and work out regularly. And a personal trainer often delivers superior results, but it's not because they show you a fancy new way of doing a sit up. They just make you do the sit up. It's the same with personal finance. We know that in order to get ahead, we can't continue to spend every dollar, and then some, that comes in the door. We have to save every month. There's nothing mystifying about it. On the other hand, for some families, they have been hit by tough times. Job loss or disability, or some other type of emergency can leave some people scrambling. There is a minimum level of expenses required just to survive, and some families aren't making enough money to make ends meet.
What are some things that parents can do to teach their children about finances?
Well they have to be financially literate themselves and unfortunately we don't teach this stuff in school. We leave people to figure it out on their own, which clearly isn't working. But when people have made money mistakes, they can certainly impart on their kids what not to do. Because they've been there.
Having them start saving with an online bank account is a great first step. Pick one with no fees or minimums so they don't have to worry about their money shrinking in the account. When they want something frivolous, if they can save up for it themselves, they might understand that money doesn't grow on trees and start to learn good habits—like earning interest instead of getting charged interest.
Can you tell me what the biggest mistake is that families make when financial planning for their families?
I'll give you two.
It's often the the simple things. Like spending less than you earn. It sounds so simple, but earning a surplus is the first key to a healthy financial lifestyle. If I gave the average person a $5,000 raise, they'll have it mentally spent in about 30 seconds.
Disaster proofing our lives is a big one too. Our single biggest asset is actually our ability to earn an income for the rest of our lives. Not even factoring inflation, and even assuming you never got a raise, earning $30,000 per year for your lifetime is well over a million dollars. If you have dependents, it's important you are covered in case the unthinkable happens. You're family can be devastated without it.
In Million Dollar Neighbourhood, the participants face some very tough challenges—do you think that people need a jolt in order to make changes, or can they do smaller, less tough things in order to create that change?
Million Dollar Neighbourhood certainly pushes people. We're trying to make 100 families $1 million better off in only 10 weeks. That's $10,000 per family. That's no small feat and so it requires some drastic measures. But viewers will absolutely be able to pick and choose a few challenges that they can implement themselves that will make a measurable impact on their own finances without having to be put through the ringer. It's up to them to decide how far they want to take it. If they need help, they can always petition to have us come to their town for season three!
Often times, participants need a pretty serious jolt that opens up deeper emotional issues. Do you let Dr. Samra (Host Joti Samra) deal with those issues or do you think that they are directly related to the financial and vice versa?
Great question. While this is first and foremost a “money” show, money and psychology go hand in hand. The best training I received for dealing with money issues was from my neuroscience days (which is essentially half psychology and half biology). I've kept an avid interest in behavioural finance and neuroeconomics and I think that's part of the reason why I'm here. So, yes, I absolutely roll up my sleeves and connect with people on that level. It's essential to be able to do that if you want to talk about money.
Having said that, some people are in bad financial situations because of the loss of a loved one, be it a spouse or child. Money stress can also be the cause of deeper psychological issues and vice versa. It's great to have Joti on hand for those situations that require a professional psychologist.
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All really great advice as we start off the new year!
OWN's Million Dollar Neighbourhood airs Sundays at 8. Contact local cable provider for channel listings.
Between my hubby's crazy job situation, my impossibly busy schedule and all the rest, Matt and I haven't gotten out to see a movie since AUGUST. I'm ashamed, dear readers. But, Matt had the night off tonight, so we made it a mission to go to the movies (especially because between my Scene Card and my brother's Christmas gift to us, it was super worth while). We whittled our choices down to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Django Unchained. On the way over, Matt said, "Lady's choice," so I picked Quentin Tarantino's latest. I am VERY glad we saw it. And while Tarantino may not be for everyone, those who are interested should definitely take a chance on Django Unchained.
The movie is set in the years leading up to the American Civil war and focus on Dr. King Shultz (played so perfectly by German actor Christoph Waltz, whom I said to Matt was basically born to play for Tarantino) and his friend/partner Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx in one of his best performances). While at first, the movie is about Django learning to be free and having rights, it quickly becomes a rescue mission when Shultz tries to help Django find his wife, Broomhilda, who has been bought by the absolutely ruthless Calvin Candie (another insanely perfect performance here, this time by Leo Dicaprio). Yes, there is gore. Yes, there is action. And yes, there is ample use of the N-word. But, it's all done within context, and it's all executed perfectly by writer/director Tarantino.
The movie is inspired by the old Spaghetti Western Django, so there is certainly a lot of the feel of those old Sergio Leone/Sergio Corbucci movies. But there are amazing and historically accurate (albeit hard to watch) bits, too. In a recent interview, Kerry Washington even spoke about how Tarantino researched to make things as real as possible, and how shocking that was for everyone involved.
Historical accuracy aside, there is an excellent (and comedic) exchange by a number of white hooded men that so perfectly mocks the utter stupidity of racism, racial violence and prejudice, it made all of us at the theatre laugh. Speaking of all of us at the theatre, there has been some definitely loud complaining online about Tarantino and his "right" to make a movie about slavery. Our audience was mixed race, age and gender and we all clapped loudly at the end of the movie. You KNOW a movie is great when movie theatre patrons are clapping for the film and no one from the film is there. Tarantino's race has no bearing on the quality of this film, nor does he do anything inappropriate, out of context, racist or sexist, for that matter. As a history buff, I am actually impressed with how well this movie plays, especially with the incredibly difficult subject matter at hand.
It's a movie about racism, but it doesn't make the movie racist. It's a movie about slavery, but it's not glorifying it in any way. At its heart, though, Django Unchained is a movie about freedom, redemption and retribution. And it's difficult and fun all at once.
Do I think you should get a sitter? Absolutely. But, if you aren't into gore, or don't like Tarantino movies, this may not be the flick for you.
So, spill it! Will you go see Django Unchained?
So, as you've probably already heard, both Jessica Simpson and Kim Kardashian are pregnant. This is huge news—and not just because that means that Hailey Eisen and I are in good pregnancy company. The ripples are going through Hollywood like nobody's business—it started with Jessica over the holidays and closed out 2012 with Kanye spilling the news. This is going to be very interesting to watch for so many reasons, including how Kimye will play out on TV, and my close watching of the media to see how Jessica will be treated.
As you probably remember (since it was less than 12 months ago), last year around this time, Jessica was torn apart in the media by everyone from journalists to bloggers. It was awful, unfair, and hurtful. So, when Jess gave birth to her daughter (Maxwell) in the spring, she immediately signed on with Weight Watchers and ended up losing 60lbs in about 7 months (basically what she would have done anyway, on account of that being what she gained while pregnant. But that will open up a new can of worms, so I'm going to leave that alone for now). She looks amazing and, well, I'm not surprised her husband couldn't keep his hands off her. She announced about a week ago that she was, officially, expecting. Then two days ago, she tweeted this photo:
Can I just say, HOLY SHIT!?!? This is one sexy mama. Jessica is a petite girl (I think she barely hits 5'1"), so I get why her gaining 50lbs while pregnant—vs me (I also gained 50lbs last time) who's 5'8"—would make her look "big," but jeeze, this is motherhood 2013. Sexy, gorgeous, confident.
I will be watching closely to see what people say about/to Jess this pregnancy, and promise to keep you up-to-date!
The other huge announcement was courtesy of Mr. Ego himself—Kanye West. West played a show on December 30, and at one point shouted out to the crowd, "Give it up for my baby mama!" and gestured to Kim Kardashian. Well, then the floodgates opened and the whole Kardashian army started tweeting out their congrats. Turns out Kim's also pregnant, due in July with her first with Kanye.
I'm actually pretty excited about this. I feel like the Kardashians are a train-wreck I can really get behind, and the inclusion of Kanye—who always just leaves me in awe with his amazing ego (and full disclosure, I love his music)—on Keeping Up with the Kardashians even more next season will be amazing. E! has also announced that Kimye have agreed to not only allow the show to follow her pregnancy, but they both have agreed to have the baby appear on the reality show after their first few months of postpartum have passed.
I don't see how any of this can be bad for me. ESPECIALLY because Kanye has excellent taste in fashion, and will definitely be dressing Kim up in some amazing clothes that I will then probably be morphing into my own pregnancy and postpartum style.
Kim's still married to Kris Humphries, by the way, so that's an added level of Maury Povich for you.
I just had a feeling that 2013 was going to start with the ball rolling very quickly, and, so far, celebrities have not disappointed me.
So, spill it! What do you think of these celebrity pregnancy announcements?
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