The 3 Best TV Shows About Money

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Watching too much TV might strain your eyes, but it certainly won't strain your wallet. That is, if you're watching the right programming. Some TV shows can help you learn the basics of investing and money management in an entertaining fashion. Here are a few to get you started.

1. Mad Money

On CNBC's Mad Money, host Jim Cramer touts advice such as the perfect stocks for young investors and the best way to play a market plunge. To be fair, he doesn't just tout it — he screams it. Rants, props, sound effects — all of it is geared toward helping Cramer's target viewers, we regular Joes, increase their stock market successes by training them to think like professional investors.

In other words, his goal is to transform market newbies into bonafide wizards of Wall Street. Cramer's opinions are bold and fiery — but also savvy. He fields questions from viewers and conducts lively interviews with Wall Street's major players, gleaning valuable insider insight. There's rarely a dry moment. While you may not agree with all of Cramer's strategies, or his flamboyant style, there's little room for doubt that Mad Money is the most engaging finance show on TV.

Words of wisdom: "You can't make money in the market if you don't understand it," Cramer has said. "It's like playing Monopoly without knowing what Pennsylvania's worth, or how much it costs to put a hotel up on Boardwalk. My job is to make sure you have not just the facts, but also the rules — and those rules are always changing."

2. The Truth About Money

Ric Edelman has testified before Congress, participated in an SEC Roundtable, and accepted appointments by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to be a delegate at three National Summits on Retirement Savings. The top-rated personal financial advisor's good money sense is perhaps only rivaled by his knack for self-promotion.

In 2012, Financial Planning named Edelman one of nine advisors with "vast Twitter followings." On his television show, The Truth About Money, which airs on more than 200 public television stations, Edelman dishes remarkably practical advice. He forgoes theatrics for the nitty gritty on paying for college and handling mortgages, as well as retirement and supporting aging parents. But that doesn't mean he's a bore. Edelman is high energy and a packs a whole lot of personality, making his show anything but boring.

Words of wisdom: "If you are terrified of the stock market, you need to invest in it anyway," Edelman says. "A lot of people are terrified to go to the dentist, but they go anyway. Don't let your fears stop you from doing what you need to do."

3. The Profit

If given the chance, you probably wouldn't put down a large sum of your own money to help turn around a stranger's struggling business. Marcus Lemonis, however, does exactly that. And he does it on national television.

The CEO of Camping World, a multi-billion dollar company, puts millions of his own dollars on the line during episodes of The Profit — and he does so with a startling rate of success. Using his entrepreneurial mind, Lemonis tweaks and sometimes completely revamps whole aspects of these floundering companies' business models in order to make himself a hard-fought, unlikely profit.

Words of wisdom: "Ultimately do what you love," Lemonis has said. "In the short term do what you have to do to pay your bills, which is necessary, but live conservatively and save so that you can create an opportunity to do what you love."

What's your must watch TV show about money?

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