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Credit Card Plot: Difference between revisions
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== Film ==
* In ''[[Don't Tell Mom the
* This is pretty much the entire plot of the ''Confessions of a Shopaholic'' film (I can't speak for the book) - the main character spends the film running up thousands of pounds of debt, messing up her job and friendships in the process because she's obsessed with shopping.
* Inverted in ''[[The Sure Thing]]''. Gib and Alison have lost all their money and are stuck in a rainstorm, trying to break into a locked trailer for shelter, when Alison remembers a credit card her father had given her. But then she remembers something important:
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** In the previous books, his parents did the same thing, so you can blame it on them not setting a good example. Also, it's an unfortunately common case of [[Truth in Television]].
** Interestingly, in all the previous books, Adrian is shown as a self-confessed miser with a pathological fear of debt, which made this sudden transformation into a reckless overspender rather unconvincing.
* ''[[
* Not a credit card, but the sequel to ''[[Freaky Friday]]'' has Anabelle, Boris, and Ben come into possession of a TV that shows all the shows for the next day. They decide to use it to watch the next day's horse racing and win enough money to get Boris's mother new clothes, redecorate the apartment, and generally give her life a makeover. In the process, they lose the last of the money through a mistake and now have a bill of several thousand to pay. {{spoiler|All ends well as Boris's mother was paid more than enough by Paramount to write them a movie script.}}
* In one of ''[[The Destroyer]]'' books Chiun, <s>the Sinandju master</s> Master of Sinanju, received from <s>his employer</s> Mad Emperor Smith a golden MasterCard meant to help him accomodate in the USA. Despising both the USA and its culture deeply, Chiun naturally never bothered to learn the proper conventions of the credit card usage, and of course ignored any explanations his adopted son Remo tried to give him, and simply assumed that the card instilled great awe and veneration in the hearts of dim-witted Americans, and discarded the monthly bills as garbage.
** Not that this is different from the way Chiun normally looks upon people who will (to the reader) clearly be expecting payment. Or at least people from a country less than a thousand years old.
* There's no actual card but in ''[[Little House
** In ''The First Four Years'', Laura's calculations of Almanzo's various borrowings on credit make for very dry reading, up until her conclusion: she'd "just as soon have a mortgage on Manly."
== Live Action TV ==
* The Bundys, of ''[[Married...
** That episode, along with a few other examples of 'cards mailed to non-people' on this page, used the quite true fact that anything mailed to you without you ordering it is legally yours. (And the implicit fact that stuff mailed to your pets is actually mailed to you.) But as the show pointed out, the fact that the family legally possesses the physical card doesn't mean they aren't on the hook for ''using'' it fraudulently.
** ''Married With Children'' was a big user of this trope, using many variations of the Credit Card Plot over its run. Another instance (and one of the few episodes where Peggy Bundy gets her comeuppance) is when Peggy becomes an Avon saleswoman, and starts buying products from herself, not understanding how sales commission works. When Al finds out about this, he explains the lapse in logic to her, then makes her work at a fast food restaurant to pay the debt back.
* Done on an episode of ''[[Hannah Montana]]''. [[Hilarity Ensues]]. Then reversed, with Miley giving Lilly her checkbook so that she won't be tempted to use it. Hilarity Ensues again.
** Though it should be noted that the whole premise of the episode was, arguably, questionable, making this one of the more egregious examples of this trope. Seeing as how Miley's alter-ego is a pop sensation in the show's universe, she should have millions of dollars anyway so it shouldn't even be an issue. Even if she IS a minor, she should at least be seeing some of that money unless her dad is a COMPLETE jackass, and even then courts usually rule that child stars get some control of the money they make.
* On ''[[Lizzie
* ''[[Sister Sister]]'', "Mo Credit, Mo Problems": The girls get an emergency credit card. Their friends convince one of them that a sale at a clothing store is an emergency. Thus, when their car breaks down and they get stranded in a bad neighborhood, they don't have enough emergency credit to pay the tow truck guy.
* ''[[Saved
* Taken to a terrifying twist in [[
* J.T. on ''[[Step
* ''[[The Charmings]]'' ran up a huge debt after their neighbor introduced them to credit cards. Fortunately, they had a closet full of gold bars to pay it off.
* The sitcom ''[[Charles in Charge]]'' had an episode in which Charles got a credit card with a low limit, intending to use it responsibly. However, the kids get hold of it and run up a large bill, causing Charles to be embarrassed when his card is rejected during a date.
* ''[[Malcolm in
** In another episode, Malcolm's parents find out Malcolm bought Christmas presents with a credit card they didn't know he had. Hal uses a pretend hug as a pretense to steal the card, which Hal then uses to pay for a trip for the entire family without telling Malcolm that he put it on Malcolm's credit card.
* In ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]'', Cookie runs up a massive debt on his "emergency" card buying everything from pizza to a pony from one instant-delivery company.
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'''Cookie:''' DUH! [[What an Idiot!|I'LL JUST PUT IT ON THE CARD!]] 8D\\ }}
** This eventually came back to bite him in the ass when he wound up stranded in the desert (don't ask, its an odd show) and when he tried to use the card, found he was over he spending limit.
* In the ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[The Facts of Life]]'', Natalie falls victim when she receives a pre-approved credit card from the bank. Though responsible at first, buying only an appointment book and a pair of bunny rabbit earmuffs, she quickly loses control, running up a $1000+ bill on a new wardrobe in an effort to have a "more professional image."
* A similar example occurs in ''[[Friends]]'' - Joey runs up quite a high credit card bill on ridiculous things while he's working on ''Days of Our Lives''. He assumes, fairly reasonably, that he'll be able to cover it, but when he gets fired, he finds himself unable to keep up with the payments and his stuff ends up being repossessed.
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* Averted on ''[[Undeclared]]''. All of the main characters get credit cards, but Lloyd and Ron only get into trouble because they use them to buy stock. They are rescued by Marshall, who has just been fooling around with it, using the card to get a wad of cash and then playing [[Briefcase Full of Money]].
** In the middle of the episode they [[Subverted Trope|subvert]] the trope, in that Ron and Lloyd start spending like crazy when they are excited about the success of their stock. But when the stock tanks, they easily return all the products, presumably for a full refund. <ref> The source of this money is never explained. They maxed their credit cards on the stock itself, and clearly didn't cash out because they lost all the value when it tanked.</ref>
* ''[[I
* ''[[CSI: Miami]]'' had an episode where all the deaths resulted from the debt problems of college students with new credit cards (issued on campus by credit card company employees who encouraged the students to spend irresponsibly as well as purposely forget to mention all the negative effects that can come from it).
* ''[[Grounded for Life]]'': Lily is given a credit card (by Claudia behind Sean's back) and goes on a shopping spree only to find out she can only return the clothes for store credit.
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* ''[[Leave It to Beaver]]'' had Eddie Haskel using a gas station card (very early version of a credit card) to rack up debt.
* In the second episode of ''[[Shake It Up]]'', the girls open bank accounts in order to manage their income from as dancers on Shake It Up Chicago. Now wielding debit cards, they find it surprisingly easy to lose track of how much they've been spending, and find themselves holding a check they can't pay at an expensive Italian restaurant.
* ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'': Sabrina gets a witch credit card that lets her zap in anything she wants. Though in a twist, she doesn't accumulate debt and learn a lesson in personal finances, she becomes ''literally'' spoiled rotten and has to learn to be charitable.
* Done multiple times on ''[[Hey Dad..!]]''. In one episode Nudge gets a credit card, but doesn't realize you have to pay the money back. In another, Betty gets a card and starts getting deeper and deeper into debt.
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** Or on Bucky's card, in one case. Rob eventually manages to get it canceled.
* In ''[[FoxTrot]]'', the idea of Paige getting a credit card is regarded with unbelievable dread, to the point that fake ones with her name on them are even used as Halloween decorations - and Roger is horrified.
* In ''[[Over the Hedge (
** One arc has RJ running up a massive debt in several cards issued in Verne's name, then getting him out of trouble by paying with a Nigerian Express card.
== Radio ==
* Happened to Connie Kendall in the ''[[
{{quote| '''Connie''': I just bought a few things, not [the amount over her limit].<br />
'''Mrs. Kendall''': Connie, my guess is, if you looked through your receipts, your "few things" cost more than you thought.<br />
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[
* ''[[The Simpsons (
** Note that both this and the ''Married With Children'' episode are rooted in Truth in Television; there have been multiple cases of credit card companies offering/issuing cards to seemingly improbable clients such as children and, yes, pets.
*** In a few instances, credit card companies have mass-mailed prison inmates with offers. When asked how that happened, the company reps explained that they had a consistent address history, making them a good credit risk.
** Parodied in an episode where, in an attempt to have a vacation without the kids, Homer and Marge travel across the world. Bart and Lisa pursue them using Rod Flanders' card along with Homer and Marge fleeing with Ned's. Both card owners are naturally shocked to receive their next statements.
* A variant from ''[[King of the Hill]]'': Bobby, annoyed at his father's thrifty ways, comes to the mistaken conclusion that Hank's saving means the family is actually very rich. He then "borrows" Hank's emergency credit card and goes shopping, but is quickly caught.
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[
** After he does make a purchase within the limit though, the Red Guy shows up as a bill collector IMMEDIATELY. The rest of the episode is Red's attempts to finagle payment from Cow and Chicken for the item, a stick of gum. He ultimately resorts to blackmail.
* A bit justified in an episode of ''[[Sealab 2021]]'' where Captain Murphy runs up massive credit card debts; he is a complete idiot, after all, and quite possibly insane. In order to pay off his debts, he assists Sparks in killing off the rest of the crew to collect the ensuing insurance money. They succeed...at least until [[Negative Continuity|Sparks and Murphy die as well]].
* In ''[[The Proud Family]]'', Penny's mom gave her a credit card for school and clothing expenses only. Of course, she and her friends abused it to the point of running out of credit. She ends up returning all the items she bought to get back her credit. The episode is made interesting by having the credit card talk, yes.
** Steve Harvey was the credit card's voice, in an obvious parody of the temptatuous Audrey II from ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]''. It was very funny.
* Done over the top, like most everything else, in an episode of the [[Animated Adaptation|cartoon series]] ''[[Beetlejuice (
** Sadly, people doing that is [[Truth in Television]].
*** Except for the abduction part.
** The Boneses, a (formerly wealthy) family Beetle Juice and Lydia tried to keep up to (in fact, the episode was aptly named [[Keep Up With The Joneses|"Keeping up With the Boneses"]]), also ended up having to work as Mall Santas.
* The [[B Story]] of one episode of ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]: [[Recycled:
* The [[Classic Disney Short|Goofy cartoon]] ''How to Take a Vacation'' has Goofy financing his vacation on a credit card, since he'd never make enough money on his current job of washing dishes. Naturally, his card runs out at a restaurant, and he has to [[Work Off the Debt|pay it off washing dishes]].
* In an episode of ''[[
* ''Girl Stuff Boy Stuff'' did this one too...with tech-nerd Simon. ''Hannah'', who was basically [[The Ditz]], summed up the basic aesop.
** Although Hannah was the show's resident shopaholic and thus would have understood credit a lot better than Simon.
* ''[[Sixteen]]'' uses this as the origin story, of sorts, for Caitlin. She ends up working at The Lemon to pay off the debt to her dad, where she meets the group.
** Caitlin falls into this trap a few times, but never as drastically as at the beginning of the season.
* This is the focus of an episode of ''[[The Replacements (
* Done [[Strictly Formula|to a T]] in ''[[Brandy and Mr. Whiskers]]''. Justified in that Whiskers, who ran up the debt, is a naive idiot who believes what he's told regardless of past experience. And, well, he was told he no longer had to worry about getting enough money to pay for all the crap he needed/wanted, so...
* In an episode of ''[[Birdz]]'', Eddie Storkowitz uses his father's credit card to buy lavish gifts first for his teacher, then for his entire class.
* In ''[[
* Done in conjunction with a [[The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday]] plot in ''[[
* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'': When their sister Candace decided to take their giant bowling ball to their parents so she could finally bust the boys, she imagined their parents would reward her by allowing her to use their credit card to drive them bankrupt.
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