MTV&39;s True Life special "I&39;m in Debt" is the financial equivalent of one of those "Blood on the Pavement" driver&39;s ed videos. It&39;s horrifying and should be required viewing for all teenagers.

The three twenty-somethings profiled on the show have already accumulated massive amounts of debt with little or no income available to pay it off:

• Amy (22) has $14,000 in credit card debt and is marginally employed. Debt collectors call her constantly and she still splurges on tanning and shopping.
• Daniel (25) has a $900/month mortgage payment, thousands in credit card debt and is in between jobs.
• Ashley (21) has $20,000 in credit card debt. Her debts have forced her to move back home with her parents and consider bankruptcy.

I wish I could find a clip of this show online; MTV only has a summary and slide show. The real star of the episode is bankruptcy attorney, Russell Simonetta. He takes the time to explain the bankruptcy process to Ashley and the impact it will have on her credit. He even goes so far to talk to her about how bankruptcy could stop her from getting an apartment, loan or job in the future. Hooray for Russell! I hope that there are more sincere and smart bankruptcy attorneys out there like him.

In contrast, the credit counselor Ashley goes to see (as required for bankruptcy filings) tries to sell her on a 41-month debt negotiation plan that will damage her credit extensively and only save her $3,000 in the long run. This scene highlights just how worthless the government mandated credit counseling really can be. Luckily, she chooses bankruptcy instead and seems to have learned some valuable lessons.

The show will air on MTV this Wednesday night (3/7) at 8:00 pm and again on Saturday (3/10) at 9:00 pm. Anyone with teenagers, college students, financially irresponsible relatives or debt problems of their own should tune in. Even better, set your TiVo to record and you&39;ll have the video ready to play anytime you are tempted to overspend.