Clueless About Money

What? Famous people aren’t supposed to have money problems. At least that’s what US Weekly taught me. Well, now, actor Donald Faison, best known for his roles as "Turk" on the medical sitcom "Scrubs" and "Murray" in the teen movie hit "Clueless," sheds some light on the real life of celebrity finances.

In an interview with Marketplace Money, Faison admits he fell prey to some of the same financial mistakes that other young adults do. After he got his first paycheck from the movie "Clueless," he went out and blew it on a $20,000 car. Problem was he only had $12,000, and incidentally, he also lived in New York City, where having a car is far more inconvenient than not having one. By the third payment, he couldn’t afford it anymore and had to resort to borrowing. A few years later, the story repeated itself when Faison bought a house he couldn’t afford.

Well, he finally wised up and got a business manager whom he still retains to keep his money in check. But not all of us can afford to pay someone to tell us stuff like, "If you spend your money on this, you're going to go broke!"

So now, Faison is trying to teach people the lessons of fiscal responsibility that he had to learn the hard way. He’s hosting a PBS special called "Your Life, Your Money”" that aims "to help you manage your money, not be managed by it."

So does that mean Faison isn’t riding to the mall every weekend with Cher and Dion anymore?

Photo courtesy Daniel.Sound via Flickr.