Top Ten Money Fools

This week I have been talking about how we can get fooled by financial setbacks or fooled into spending money, and just to make us all feel better, I thought I would share some people who were REALLY foolish about money and what it cost them. While this list should make most of us feel better, it should also act as a cautionary tale for how bad money habits add up to really big money issues. And I know that there are more than ten actual people on this list, but I included the couples as a "unit" since they got into money trouble together.

Tax Fools

1) Lionel Richie - 2012 he apparently owed the US government $1.1 million in taxes. He shared at the time that his team was correcting the issue. If my team forced me to miss $1.1 million in taxes, I probably wouldn't have them on the team anymore.2) Nicholas Cage - In 2009, the IRS stated that Nicholas Cage owed them $6 million dollars due to purchases he made in 2007. And it sounds like he had a heck of a spending list including real estate, cars, art work and $276,000 for the skull of a Tarbosaurus dinosaur.3) Wesley Snipes - Apparently despite the fact that he made $38 million dollars on numerous movies in the 1990s and early 2000s, the first time he paid taxes was in 2006, which obviously caught the eye of the IRS and sent him to prison.

Spending Fools

4) Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag - These two reality stars recently disclosed that they spent more than $10 million dollars on trying to keep up with Jay Z and Beyonce.5) Jon and Kate Goselin - They were fortunate to make a great salary in addition to a number of other "perks" for letting reality television cameras film their day to day life on Jon and Kate Plus Eight. Unfortunately, they went on a spending spree, building a huge home and indulging in other perks.

Investing Fools

6) Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick - I love Kevin Bacon as much as the next person, and especially after his recent entrance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon; however, he and his wife disclosed that they were part of the group of investors who lost their money due to Bernie Madoff's massive ponzi scheme. One of the first lessons in asset allocation is to not have too much of your money in any one asset. I don't like to see my clients have more than 5% in any one asset. So these two and the others who took a "big" hit when Madoff transpired were victims of poor asset allocation.7) Lenny Dykstra - The former professional baseball player claimed to be a master investor, and even had his own newsletter where he shared some of his tips. Unfortunately, in 2009 he filed for bankruptcy stating that he only had $50,000 in assets.8) Billy Joel - One of the greatest musicians of all time (in my mind) had to file for bankruptcy and sued his former manager for $90 million dollars over bad investments and loan losses.

Gambling Fools

9) John Daly - This professional golfer estimates that he lost more than $60 million dollars due to gambling.10) Charlie Sheen - Amongst other issues he has, Charlie Sheen, revealed in 2006 that he spent $20,000 a week betting on sports.Image Source Free Digital PhotosDoes this list make you feel better about yourself? Am I missing any other money fools on this list?