Topic : 11/04 A Shopping Intervention

Bridgette spends money so easily because she didn't put in the hours to earn it.  I believe that prior to her marriage she was not very 'switched on' to 'life in the real world' and entered into her marriage with the same attitude. 

I think that she is manipulative, she probably did feel 'guilty' when her husband received a bill, but she knew by walking out of the room his 'anger' would soon subside, relief.......... time to plan for tommorows spending spree. And every other day. 

She has little or no respect for her husband, but then she didn't know if she loved him when she married him?!, but it didn't stop her from spending his money on frivolous and stupid things, oh I almost forgot, she mentioned something about  a 'void', obviously she isn't aware that most people on this planet have some sort of 'void', for those who are not fortunate enough to have money waiting for them to take or steal each morning, they must work for it!, therefore that makes plenty of  different 'voids' in the world! 

Finally her days of 'spending how much and when I want days' have come to a bump, so the best thing to do is to come on the Dr Phil show and hopefully he will give her 'spending habit' a long clinical name and even tell her that she is not to blame..........   

If Bridgette respects Dr Phil  ' above all others', then why did she never take the advice he had given to other people who had 'habits' like hers on previous shows, I guess those ones she happened to miss while out shopping. 

Bridgette has never had to face consequences for any of her actions, blaming others for her disrespect and selfishness. 

Bridgette, grow up and get a job. 

  I would like to go to one of her garage sales!! 

I totally agree with your assessment.  I was growing so angry with Dr. Phil that I had to turn off the show before the end.  This marriage should have ended long ago, before they brought children into the equation.  He might love her, but I see no love from her towards him.  Dr. Phil could not even begin to scratch the surface of the problems of these two as it has been 25 years of pain and disappointment on both sides.  I don't think Bridgette likes herself very much or even knows who she is as a person.  I think that her husband suggesting that she "get a job" is not a callus response as Dr. Phil made it out to be.  I think that what others have said on this board is true: Bridgette needs to grow up.  In that, I mean that she needs a sense of self and self worth and a reason to live.  She is empty and full of anger that just festers because she focuses her attention on nothing else.  I have seen other couples where the husband cheats early on in the marriage and the wife manipulates that event to get whatever she wants from him.   

I hope the Dr. listens to Dr. Phil in that he cuts his wife off of the credit cards completely and move to only cash spending.  If she fails to buy the necessities from this cash plan and blows the cash on crap, then just hire someone to do this for you.  I am sure it would be cheaper to hire a personal assistant than to hand over a credit card to Bridgette.  I don't see any love from this woman towards her husband and I think she is married to him only for the money.  She complains that she wants him home more, but is that because she wants to enjoy time with him or because she is insecure and thinks he is not working but fooling around?  The thought that he might leave her someday must cross her mind occassionally. Just look at some of the posts where women are saying, "leave her, come to me, I'd treat you like a king."   

Dr. Phil, since she would listen to you, you should have been harsher with her.  I cannot believe that you were that nice to this manipulative person.  I'm disappointed that you missed the mark on this one. 

That's what happened to my husband and I.  We grew up in a neat little Northern California town, but when real estate skyrocketed and our landlord decided to take advantage of the price increase and make some money selling the house we rented, we were squeezed out of the market-and not just to buy a home.  We could no longer afford to just rent a place!  On top of that, because it is a small college town with mostly retired people and students, we were unable to find employment that would allow us to afford living there.  So we moved!  We now live in the Midwest, 2000 miles away, have better jobs, and the cost of living is not only within our price range, but much cheaper than we could have ever hoped for.  We are looking at being able to buy a home in six months.  But that experience in California was valid because it really taught us to live on less and appreciate the finer things in life (you'd be amazed what kind of entertainment you can come up with for little or no money).  My husband and I now have a better and closer relationship than we did before we moved.  We spend alot more time talking (it costs nothing to have a good conversation). 

I am shocked by people like Bridgette and Michael who seem to be so far removed from reality, the way most people live, that if they found themselves flat broke one day they'd have no idea how to dig themselves out. 

I agree with you that Michael is taking a passive attitude towards his wife's spending.  How can he sit there and complain about the credit cards without calling all of them and having them stopped, NOW? 

Alot of the money she's spent on foolish purchases could have made a serious difference in the life of someone affected by, say, Hurricane Katrina.  $25K spent on jewelry could paid for a house in full in some areas of the country. 

I hope this family gets their priorities straightened out, that it's not about the presents they give to themselves and their children, but about the PRESENCE.