Bad TV: Courtney Cox’s Massive Financial Error

April 5, 2010 by  

7 Comments

I was catching up on Courtney Cox’s new show Cougar Town the other night on Hulu (not that I watch trashy sitcoms…), when a plotline went down that upset me so much, I have to rant. For the uninitiated, Cougar Town is Friends alum Courtney Cox’s latest sitcom vehicle. It stars the fabulous-looking (albeit nipped and tucked) Courtney Cox as Jules, a Florida real estate agent. Her ditzy and feisty sidekick/assistant is Lori, played by Busy Phillips. In the world of Cougar Town, there is no recession; Jules lives in a large, fancy home, has plenty of money, and rarely works.

During the course of the episode in question, a very interesting exchange occurs, one which happens all the time in real life, particularly to women. Let’s watch the drama unfold.

* * *

[Season 1, Episode 16] Scene: Lori, the blonde assistant, decides she wants to buy a condo. So she and Jules have a friend review Lori’s finances.

Finance Guy: Lori, you can absolutely afford this condo. There’s just one problem–your credit sucks. You can still get a loan, you just need someone to cosign.

Lori looks at Jules imploringly.

Jules (Courtney Cox): Oh no, no, no. Sweetie, I love you, but I’d be watching every dime you spend. I’d be like your mom and I so don’t want that. [Ed. note: at this point, I was cheering for Jules--good job saying no!]

Episode ensues, during which Lori’s and Jules’ relationship is strengthened. In the final scene, Jules blindfolds Lori and brings her into the kitchen, where Jules has wrapped a pile of documents in a red ribbon. Lori opens her eyes, and Jules shouts, “Surprise!”

Lori: Honey, if you want me to work over the weekend, you just have to ask.

Jules: No, these are the closing papers on your condo. I cosigned on your loan!

Lori: Jules, no, it’s too much…

Jules: No, honey, I wanted to.

Lori: Thank you!

* * *

…and that’s the end of the discussion around the massive, life-changing decision Courtney Cox’s character has made to indefinitely intertwine her finances with those of her flaky assistant who has bad credit.

Can anyone spot the problem with this decision? Here’s a hint:

  • Lori has already established herself as a poor credit risk (she has bad credit, so no bank will make her a loan)
  • By cosigning on Lori’s mortgage, Jules is taking on responsibility for paying it. As in, it’s now Jules’ mortgage.
  • Lori’s and Jules’ financial well-being moves in synch. They work together, so they share the ups and downs of the real estate market. If the world of Cougar Town ever enters a recession or housing crisis, Jules may not have so much money, and may even have to lay off Lori. Then they would both have a hard time paying the bills.
  • Even if nothing at all goes wrong and Lori consistently pays her mortgage, the loan will appear on Jules’ credit report. It will alter her debt-to-income ratio, possibly making her ineligible for new credit, loans, or mortgages of her own.

Can you tell I’m against Jules’ decision? Yes, it’s just a TV show and maybe I need to just have another cocktail and relax. But no–the plotline mirrors a really common real world situation. And what bothers me so much is the fact that Jules’ actions are held up on national TV as a Good Thing to Do. Jules is showing Lori her love by cosigning. If you love someone, you will cosign on their loan. Ergo, not cosigning means you don’t love them. It is terrible logic, and it freaks me out because women seem particularly susceptible to its guilt-tripping effects. I know no one is looking to Cougar Town to learn life lessons, but that doesn’t mean that the scare effective subliminal messaging that marketers are constantly fine-tuning doesn’t have an impact on our attitudes. (This is how I justify my rants.)

Love means making responsible decisions for you and for your loved ones. Putting both their financial futures in jeopardy helps no one. The loving thing for Jules to do would be to say, “Lori, I’m so excited you want to buy a bangin’ condo. But your credit sucks. Let’s talk about ways you can clean up your credit so you’ll be ready to buy a condo on your own, as a real adult.” OK, it may not have much entertainment value (and this is why I’ll never be a Hollywood screenwriter), but you get the point.

All the finance gurus will tell you: never, never, NEVER cosign on someone else’s loan. Courtney, I’m looking at you!

And what about you, fair reader? Have you ever cosigned on a loan? Are you glad or sad?

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  • Marynia

    A similar plotline played out in Sex and the City. Carrie didn't have enough money saved for a downpayment and asks Charlotte for the cash. Did we ever find out how that turned out? I'm assuming Carrie's book deals made paying her friend back breeze…

  • Rebecca

    Oh man, don't EVEN get me started on the financial unreality of Sex and the
    City. Unless Carrie was pulling in a few thou per weekly column, there's no
    way she could afford all those shoes and fancy dinners. She would've been
    drowning in credit card debt. Of course, the master plan may have been to
    get Big to rescue her and wipe away her financial woes…in which case, she
    succeeded.

    But on to your point. If I remember correctly, Carrie's request for money
    was similarly couched in “Don't you care about your friend?” terms. Argh,
    emotional manipulation! Money is tied to emotions, but it's so dangerous to
    use anything other than your head when making financial decisions. I don't
    recall how the loan turned out, or whether they even revisited the topic.
    But yeah, between the book deal and her marriage, I doubt that fictional
    Carrie has any money problems any more.

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    [...] I think irresponsible messages are being sent. You might’ve guessed from last week’s Cougar Town post. Oftentimes, these house-hunter shows showcase bad real estate practices like people buying [...]

  • Casey

    Never co-signed a loan or had a co-signer, but my father was a guarantor on our first lease. I think it depends a bit on the relationship (parent-child or maybe even siblings would have me a bit less worried than friends), and on WHY the other person's credit was lacking — is it because they haven't used credit cards in the past an lack an adequate credit history or because they have “messed up” the example from the show.

  • Rebecca

    My dad actually cosigned on my first lease, too. I've thought back to that, and pondered whether that was a smart move (for him) and whether I'd advise other people to do the same. Since a lease requires so much less commitment in terms of time and money, I think it's ok for a parent to cosign on their kid's lease. But a big consideration is the point you make about WHY the kid needs help–is it because they lack credit history, or because they've messed up? In my case, I had a job which paid enough to cover the rent, but I simply hadn't started it yet. I have a feeling you were in the same boat.

  • http://151daysoff.com/ Bytta

    I'm annoyed with the whole concept of female has to be taken care of financially by men in their lives (father, husband, bf). This reminds me of Cinderella Complex: The Cinderella Complex was first described by Colette Dowling, who wrote a book on women's fear of independence, as an unconscious desire to be taken care of by others, based primarily on a fear of being independent. The complex is said to become more apparent as a person grows older (taken from Wikipedia).

    No wonder we have less money in retirement, investment and savings if popular shows like this and SATC encourage us to care more about other people than our money (at our expenses) and believe that everything will be taken care by men. Bollocks!!

  • http://151daysoff.com/ Bytta

    I'm annoyed with the whole concept of female has to be taken care of financially by men in their lives (father, husband, bf). This reminds me of Cinderella Complex: The Cinderella Complex was first described by Colette Dowling, who wrote a book on women's fear of independence, as an unconscious desire to be taken care of by others, based primarily on a fear of being independent. The complex is said to become more apparent as a person grows older (taken from Wikipedia).

    No wonder we have less money in retirement, investment and savings if popular shows like this and SATC encourage us to care more about other people than our money (at our expenses) and believe that everything will be taken care by men. Bollocks!!