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My Emma recently discovered “I Love Lucy” and like millions of other, she is utterly enthralled by Lucy. The entire thing came about because Tom and I happened to be talking about the episode with the Vitameatavegimin and she wanted to see what we were giggling about. Needless to say that it’s been weeks and she’s slowly working her way through the entire episode listing on Hulu. Yes, my 10 year old is choosing to use her t.v. time to watch “I Love Lucy” over anything that was made today. I am 100% totally okay with this.Because the family t.v. sits right outside of my office, I can often hear her giggling at the show and I have to smile. It reminds me of my first time watching those same episodes and of how I giggled and laughed the same way that she does. I can also hear the episodes themselves and yes, I find myself chuckling along with her. I have to wonder if Lucille Ball knew while she was here with us if her gags and jokes would still be bringing people joy for years after she passed. I certainly hope that she did.
I tell you all of that not to bore you (sorry if I did!) but to set the stage for this post. One day last week, Emma was watching “I Love Lucy” like always. Specifically, she was watching the episode “Oil Wells.” If you don’t know that specific episode, let me recap it for you very quickly. Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel all have the opportunity to invest in Texas oil. They buy their shares and then proceed to do something that a lot of us do. Lucy shows up in a fur coat, Ethel in a mink stole. Fred has spent money as well and Ricky? Custom Cadillac. All of this before their oil wells had even struck oil. Needless to say, typical Lucy hijinxensues and before too long, they’ve gotten their money back and ripped up their shares only to find that immediately after the oil well struck oil and they just barely missed their chance to be rich.
As I was listening to this episode, I was immediately struck by how similar their actions are to a lot of ours today. I touched on this the other day in my post that told you the one thing that your Grandparents knew that you don’t, but I think it is so important that I’m going to say it again.
In the episode above, the 4 characters spend money that they don’t really have to spare (although they certainly weren’t hurting to pay their bills), before they even have it. While we don’t see what happened after the episode ended, it isn’t hard to imagine what real life would have been like. They would have had three options: pay for the items, return the items or try to pain and fail only to have the items repossessed because they were bought on credit.
In another episode (although the episode name escapes me), Lucy has spent the bill money and Ricky decided to take her allowance until it was paid back. Again, we run into the same lesson.
You can’t spend money that you don’t have.
Since humans started using a monetary form (be it salt, silver, gold or paper dollar bills), credit has always been available and throughout those years, countless numbers of peoplehave gotten into trouble with it. Credit, at its very core, is the very simple act of spending money that you don’t have. I don’t care if the money technically came from your checking accounts. You’re not spending your money. You’re spending someone else’s money.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not comfortable at all spending someone else’s money. I would hope that you aren’t either.
Instead of doing just that, budget for what you needso that you are able to save for what you need. If it helps you to not have everything in your main checking account, set up a separate savings account to use for whatever you’re trying to save for. When I do this, I prefer to use an online account. This gives me time to really think about the purchase before the money hits my regular checking account. Usually 2-3 days which is more than enough time for me to mull over whether I really and truly need to buy something.
The entire point of all of this is this: Whether you’re preparing yourself for your regular budget or a big ticket purchase, take a lesson from Lucy. You can’t spend money that you don’t have. Credit isn’t the answer for 99% of the things we buy and like Lucy would have surely found out if the above situations had been real, spending money that you don’t have or living solely on credit will only lead to big fat “I Love Lucy” tears.
So there you have it….who would have thought you could learn a few financial lessons from such an awesome show?
The groundbreaking television series I Love Lucy not only captivated America with its humor but also pioneered significant cultural and social changes. The show challenged societal norms, and its legacy continues to influence the sitcom genre and representation on television.
That negotiation is widely considered one of the smartest business decisions in the history of American entertainment, as Desilu Studios went on to invent the concept of the “rerun” and use profits from the I Love Lucy show syndication to fund the growth of the studio.
Aside from Lucille Ball's great comedic talents, what made the show so appealing? Added to the fact that the show was enormously funny, I Love Lucy had enormous heart. The Ricardos and their friends the Mertzes really did love each other and that came across. It was something that people wanted in their living rooms.
I Love Lucy inspired and continues to inspire an emphasis on women's friendships, exploring beyond societal norms, and genuinely hysterical slapstick humor. Though Lucille Ball went on to produce and star in other shows, nothing compared to the well-deserved success I Love Lucy enjoyed.
It explores profound themes such as the nature of reality, the pursuit of knowledge, and the ethical implications of human advancement. “Lucy” serves as a reminder that the human mind is a remarkable and mysterious entity with untapped potential.
Lucy filed for divorce in 1944, over issues with Desi's heavy drinking and cheating, according to People. Desi was also gone a lot on tour and, when he was home, he would be out late while Lucy had to be up early for work.
After six seasons, Ball decided to end the series, feeling that the show had enough episodes for syndication. Ball opted to continue on television under the provision that her two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., agreed to appear alongside her.
Lucille had an estimated net worth of $60 million at the time of her death at age 77 in 1989, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The Emmy winner, born to Henry Durrell "Had" Ball and Désirée Evelyn "DeDe" Ball in 1911, earned her first credited acting role in 1935's I Dream Too Much.
One of the most controversial aspects of I Love Lucy was the show's handling of Lucille Ball's real-life pregnancy. Rather than attempting to hide it, the writers opted to include it in the series' storyline.
Ball insisted on Arnaz playing her on-air husband so the two would be able to spend more time together. At first it was met with resistance from CBS producers as they were told that Arnaz's Cuban accent and Latin style would “not be agreeable to American viewers”.
Ball is proof that success can come at any age. Even though she'd been working as an actress and model since she was 12 years old, the comedian didn't become a household name until starring in her iconic show, I Love Lucy, shortly after she turned 40.
Eager to find a solution, Desi and writer Jess Oppenheimer discussed Lucy's pregnancy with CBS and sponsor Philip Morris. With their approval, the producers decided to do something that had never been done before: incorporate the pregnancy into the script.
' According to his father's recollection, Frawley and Vance had a fine working relationship until he overheard her make a disparaging remark about his age. 'Even though the entire world loved Lucy, everyone on I Love Lucy didn't love everyone else,' he wrote. 'For one thing, Vivian Vance couldn't stomach Bill Frawley.
Lucy addressed the socially prescribed role of women as housewives and mothers. The show also examined the roles men and women in the confines of marriage, husband-wife relationship traditional gender roles, femininity, and motherhood.
Even more representative of society's accepted roles between men and women were in Lucy's attempts to be a star. This was an ultimate dream for all Americans—to make it big. Audiences would delight in Lucy's antics, although she often did not succeed.
Proving that her talents extended beyond the realm of comedy, the entrepreneur became the first female studio head in Hollywood. As president of Desilu Productions, she broke the glass ceiling for women executives in the film and television industry and her shows live on in syndication.
One of the most controversial aspects of I Love Lucy was the show's handling of Lucille Ball's real-life pregnancy. Rather than attempting to hide it, the writers opted to include it in the series' storyline.
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