Emily's list: 'You're Cut Off' edition

This summer, VH1 aired a new reality show called "You're Cut Off." It starred nine rich and spoiled ladies who go through "princess rehab" to teach them how to be responsible and value their families' money that they spend so carelessly. I know about it because a girl I grew up with was one of the nine girls, and when I found out she was on it, I DVR'ed the whole season (I'm not naming names). I finished watching it a few days ago, and I'm still in shock.

The funniest part is that the girls' parents were all in on it. At first, the princesses were told that they were going to be on a reality show called "The Good Life" -- all about their exorbitant lifestyles. The clips from this segment is hilarious -- one girl is in a hot tub with nice champagne being poured down her mouth who later brags about her hundreds of thousands of dollars of credit limit spread across multiple cards. Another is a girl getting into a private car in New York while swathed in a massive fur coat. Another getting Botox injections, while another shows off her four luxury cars.

Then the girls are informed that they are on a very different show where they are being cut off from their families and forced to "live like normal people." They all showed up with dozens of suitcases of luggage full of designer garb, but were forced to narrow it down to one bag (strangely, one girl managed to fit her hookah in there).

The girls are forced to live in a small house together and must do chores, clean and cook for themselves. Fights constantly break out amongst the divas, many of whom insist that such tasks are beneath them. Throughout the show, they are mentored by a down-to-earth life coach whose goal is to teach the young women how to value money and be responsible adults. In one lesson, they spend a day at a job at a shoe manufacturer and see what it's like to be a working adult and take home a modest paycheck at the end of the day (one girl said she didn't realize that some shoes cost less than $800). In another episode, they were taught to value inner beauty more than external beauty, something these rich girls put insane amounts of time and effort into. One episode takes them camping out in the country, and another has them spend a day as a maid for another diva -- Omarosa, who gained celebrity for her loud and obnoxious forceful and determined appearances on Donald Trump's TV show "The Apprentice."

In the final episode, the girls reunite with their families. The girls read letters aloud that they have prepared, most of which convey that they now appreciate the work that goes into earning a paycheck and not taking money for granted anymore. Then the families got to make their demands. One mom insisted that she was not paying for her daughter to go to tanning beds any longer. Another family decided that the daughter would have to move out and get a job within a month. And the girl with all the credit cards? Her parents told her she could only keep one, and that the limit was now $500.

All of the girls had to accept these new terms in order to "graduate the program." At the end, it was revealed who actually stuck to the terms. As expected, many were still living at home or mooching off family, though some had made improvements, such as getting a part-time job or pitching in on certain expenses.

The credit card girl? She hit her $500 limit within 24 hours. It's no surprise that she's the same one who made the comment about the $800 shoes.

Regardless of all the silliness, you could see that the lessons really resonated with some of these girls. It took a few weeks, but some of the girls really seemed to get concepts they've never been forced to think about before, like what a hard life it is to be a maid, or how gratifying it is to earn some of your own money.

I hope these nine princesses tune in and read this roundup of some of my favorite posts from personal finance blogs from the past week. Enjoy!

1. If you've been in debt for a while, all of your effort has probably just been focused on getting out of the red and into the black. But what happens once you're debt free? Wisebread explains how to handle life after debt.

2. Blogging Away Debt had a big scare recently when her young dog was bit twice by a rattlesnake and left with a grim prognosis. She writes about the difficulty of making a decision that you know is right, but financially sets you back in debt (be sure to read her more recent posts about her dog pulling through -- it's a happy ending!).

3. In this insightful post, The Simple Dollar explains why the "latte factor" isn't failproof and explains how not to fail at frugality.

4. Think playing on Twitter and Facebook is nothing but a harmless timesuck? In fact, Generation X Finance argues that social media can negatively affect you in five financial ways, one being that it's easier for debt collectors to find you.

5. Losing your wallet is probably one of the worst things that can happen to you while traveling. Bargaineering explains how you can help prevent this and what to do if this happens to you.

6. All Financial Matters reacts to a story about a couple who made an extreme lifestyle change by shedding most of their belongings and discusses whether money can buy you happiness (and how he finds happiness).

7. Brip Blap describes how you can break bad habits, like debt, while taking back important old habits and creating new ones.

8. If you're in your 20s, you are probably going to weddings left and right. Money Crashers offers some affordable wedding gift ideas that won't make you broke.

9. How is an Israeli fighting technique related to personal finance? Free From Broke reveals how the art of Krav Maga can teach you about how to manage your money.

10. It takes hard work to build an optimal credit score, and it's not getting any easier. Dough Roller explains how you can protect your good credit score once you have it.