Michael Jackson Money Management – Just Budget!

They Told Me Don’t You Ever Come Around Here
Don’t Wanna Pay It Back, You Better Disappear
The Numbers’ In The Red And You Owe More Than You Earn
So Budget, Just Budget

[2nd Verse]
You Better Sing, You Better Do What You Can
Don’t Wanna See No Shrink, Don’t Meet the Repo Man
You Wanna Be Young, Better Save What You Can
So Budget, But You Wanna Be Bad

[Chorus]
Just Budget, Budget, Budget, Budget
No One Wants To Be Indebted
Showin’ How Spending Strong Is Your Right
When Makin’ Money Each Day and Night
Just Budget, Budget
Just Budget, Budget
Just Budget, Budget
Just Budget, Budget

[...]

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, 1958-2009.

I hope he leaves in peace and with a feeling of satisfaction.  As amazing an entertainer and as talented a performer as he was, MJ became known later on for some drastic money management mishaps.  He reportedly took out a loan of $140 million from the Bank of America and had it bumped up to $200 million just a couple of years later.  At one point, I believe he was the wealthiest entertainer alive.  I never kept track of the precise numbers, but he would be up there with Madonna.

While I completely praise Jackson’s artistic abilities and send my respects to his family and friends, the anecdotes about his financial life bear witness to the common phenomenon of the relativity of wealth.  After a certain point, it isn’t how much you earn anymore which determines your wealth, it’s what you do with it and how much you keep of it.   Jackson is by no means alone in this example as an entertainer – I’m not singling him out, nor entertainers in general.

One thing that strikes me about Jackson’s example, though, is to be grateful for what you have.  The grass only seems greener. It’s sad that he seemed so unhappy with parts of his life, for whatever reasons – he was amazingly talented and obviously had a fair degree of intelligence.  Check out this great video while you’re thinking about him.  Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.  (But know what’s enough! ;))

I know that everything good that has been said about money management has probably already been said before, so rather than adding something new here, I’ll leave you with some great reads from my fellow bloggers to peruse over the weekend as some of us continue to contemplate the life of Jackson and how he changed the world of entertainment and affected us all in some way or another.

Great Money Management Reads

Be Successful By Learning Delayed Gratification – Bargaineering
The Things You Own End Up Owning You – My Two Dollars
Money-Saving Advice From An Expert Money-Saver – The Digerati Life
Dealing with Annual Expenses – Saving for Serenity
Should There Be Mandatory Personal Finance Classes In High Schools? – Bible Money Matters
Can We Still Make Money Out of the Stock Market? – Financial Blogger
How Credit Card Companies Make Their Money – Weakonomics

• How To Prepare Yourself For High Inflation If You Don't Have Any Money or Investments
• Save Tons of Money By Eating Super Foods - The Minimal Amount of Food Necessary
• Money Lessons Applied to Life: How To Build Your Mental Emergency Fund
• Some Ideas For Stabilizing Your Income If You're a Freelancer or Self-Employed
• How Many Economists Does It Take To Build A Successful Blog? One, if it's The Weakonomist

• Famous Musician Bankruptcies: From Millions To Broke
• Freeing Up Breathing Room in a Tight Budget
• Cash Money Life Is My Hero This Week
• Money Hacks Carnival #71 - Canada Day Edition
• Money Management During Tough Financial Times

Tagged as: budgets, financial planning, link roundup, Michael Jackson, money management, wealth protection