A funny thing happens when checks stop rolling in. You don't have any money. That scenario is becoming reality for yet another Hollywood A-lister, Oscar winner, Nicolas Cage, whose movies have failed to produce box-office hits. Or a lot of royalty dough.

But Cage, who owes a reported $6.3 million to the IRS, isn't blaming his professional choices (or acting ability) for his cash crunch. Instead, he's suing his financial adviser, citing he's to blame for the actor's money woes.

On Oct. 16, Cage filed a lawsuit claiming his longtime business manager Samuel J. Levin "lined his [own} pockets with several million in business management fees while sending Cage down a path toward financial ruin." Cage claims he didn't realize he was in such a deep financial hole until earlier this year, when the sell-off began.

Last week it was Pamela Anderson. Now, there's news that the recession has affected another one of the entertainment world's shiniest stars. Rapper Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent, has confessed he's lost "a few million" of his estimated $442 million estate.

A move that's prompted his sharing some financial tips.

Sweet, saucy, and from the slums, Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail both went from wretched poverty to international fame after starring in the 2009 Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Best Director, Slumdog Millionaire.

But they just won't go to school, even though the movie's producer and director got the young stars placed in a Mumbai school and paid their tuition until they turn 18... and even though they've set up a trust that's dependent on the children attending school for the next seven or eight years.

Ali, 10, and Ismail, 11, have average attendance of about one in three days, and though Slumdog producer Christian Colson and director Danny Boyle have urged their parents to accept their offer of apartments outside of the slums, only Ismail's mother has taken the moviemakers up on their offer.

Looks like Levi Johnston is grabbing headlines once again. The teen famous for fathering Sarah Palin's grandson is spending hours in the gym beefing up for his Playgirl photo shoot.

Men do it, too.

What do Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith and Holly Madison all have in common? They've all used their sensuality and sexuality to make money. And in doing so, they've all - at one time or another - been dubbed "bimbos" and "cheap".

But these babes, and women in general, haven't cornered the market on selling their sex-appeal.

Guys are also famous for baring it all and cashing in on their sexuality. Men have cast gazing glances and "made love to the camera" for decades. Errol Flynn and Rudolph Valentino weren't shamed by their sex appeal. They weren't called "bimbos" either.

When David Spade's tasteless DirecTV ad went out in late October, it was immediately hit with a hail of criticism.

Writers, including our own Jami Bernard, were quick to point out that the commercial, which used footage from 1995's Tommy Boy, essentially came off as a cruel and shameless exploitation of deceased actor Chris Farley.

Although Spade has repeatedly stated that he considered the commercial a tribute to Farley, he recently told People magazine that "The movie is important to me, and I would hate to offend [anyone] because that's one of my favorite things I've ever done. So I would apologize to someone who took it that way." He went on to state that "I wouldn't want anyone to get a whiff that I'm trying to get something off Chris."

As Bernard pointed out on WalletPop, the Farley estate was complicit in the ad. Farley's brothers have already received $25,000 for a billboard bearing his likeness; presumably, they accepted a lot more cash for this ad.

Lots of us find that at the end of the month, we don't have any money left. The recession has forced millions of Americans to put off dreams of renovating or redesigning their homes. Designer Michael Moloney has a gift for quick and effective decor. After all, he whips up stunning new rooms within days every week on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Taking off from the show's episode this Sunday, in which a family's plans to build their dream home are derailed by a freak accident, Moloney calls in to WalletPop's studios to talk with Jason Cochran about the things you can do if you find you can't afford that dream makeover anymore.

You can whittle down the things you already own. You can freshen things up by moving your stuff all around the house to new locations. Or, if you have $14 left in your pocket by the 31st, you can give any room a dramatic new look with one simple solution.

Watch our conversation with the design whiz below. You can also watch our conversation with music star Xzibit, who is making his second appearance on the show this weekend as he pitches in to help another needy family.

The well known women at wowOwow.com are stopping by WalletPop on a frequent basis to answer your spending and personal finance questions.

This week we asked them: Step into Nancy Pelosi's shoes for a moment: What should be done about Charles Rangel (D-NY)? What do you think will be done?

Whoopi Goldberg: I like Charlie Rangel, but I think now there is too much stuff to ignore. He's got to go! And if he goes ... can I have his health-care package?

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On Monday, Jon Gosselin said he returned $230,000 in funds to a joint account shared with his estranged wife, and reality show co-star, Kate Gosselin.

He did so because earlier this month, a Pennsylvania judge ordered Jon to return these funds, even as he continues to criticize Kate for not being forced to return money she allegedly withdrew from the couple's account.

While Gosselin has a fighting chance of quickly coming up with that much coin (through media appearances and sponsorships), most regular Janes and Joes in the midst of a divorce aren't usually able to pony up large chucks of cash all at once.

Jay Leno's move to prime time was viewed by some as a savvy show business decision. A popular, well-known comedian, the former host of the Tonight Show would provide NBC with a cheap, talk-show alternative to the network's previous line-up of dramatic programming, which is costly to produce. Or so it was thought.

With ratings numbers continuing to fall, however, NBC affiliates aren't feeling nearly as sanguine as the network itself, the New York Post reports. After a solid start last month, ratings have a slipped to a quarter of what they once were. That has local news programs nervous, as they count on viewers of 10 P.M. shows to stick around for the 11 P.M. news. (Unless you're in the Central or Mountain times zones, where everything is on an hour earlier.)

Former Baywatch babe and rocker wife, Pamela Anderson is having money woes. The actress is reportedly $4.8 million in debt because of expensive renovations on her Malibu, California dream home.

Anderson's been reportedly sobbing over the thought of having to sell her gilded palace complete, which comes complete with mirrored mosaics and platinum tiles surrounding the pool. The original price tag for the property was a modest $1.3 million and change. But renovations have led to Anderson being sued by five contractors because of unpaid bills.

In an interview with British TV personality, Joe Swash, Anderson said she had been hit by the recession and let down by a string of investments. "I'm a little girl with two kids - how could you screw me?" she added.

Anderson bemoaned "I'm going to sell it. I hate it" explaining that construction projects can destroy relationships and even cause some to commit suicide. "It rips your heart out" she said.

On a recent episode of Shark Tank, inventor Cactus Jack was faced with two offers that would yield him $180,000 for his product, a device that makes it easier for heavy people to do push-ups.

Barbara Corcoran, taken with this big guy with a big personality, offered to give him the cash -- provided he lose 30 pounds. Otherwise, she said, who could take a weight-loss guru seriously? If he didn't lose the weight, he'd lose the deal. (Watch back episodes of the ABC show at this link.)

"There's no way in hell he's losing 30 pounds," kvetched fellow Shark Kevin O'Leary after Cactus Jack had left the room. "The 30 pounds is gonna keep it off the table forever."

Flash forward. Months later, Cactus Jack has flown to New York City from Iowa to meet with Corcoran and hash out the future of his business. Critical to the next stage is the big test: Has he lost the weight contingent to the deal?

Corcoran invited WalletPop to her penthouse office for the big moment. At stake: A comically large novelty check made out for $180,000, and potential infomercial involvement by TV impresario Kevin Harrington.

Was this medical check-up a photo op for the media? Of course it was, but it was fun. And did this larger-than-life guy prove Kevin "Mr. Burns" O'Leary wrong? Watch and see.

It was a moment worth $6,000 a pound.

This Sunday evening, Food Network star Sandra Lee appears as a volunteer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and she'll be pitching in to collect something she knows a lot about: canned foods.

Lee has crafted a mini-empire out of her DIY advice that teaches people to take economical shortcuts with pre-packaged foods. Her expertise runs from gardens to drapes -- she helms two Food Network shows, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee and Sandra's Money Saving Meals, a magazine (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade), and three recently released books, Weeknight Wonders, Money Saving Slow Cooking, and Cocktail Time. And, of course, on ABC this Sunday, when she helps re-make the lives of some dedicated community volunteers.

In a video chat with WalletPop's Jason Cochran, Lee talks candidly about her youth spent on food stamps and working in food banks with her grandmother.

Move over, Richard Hatch. Adam Jasinski is the latest reality TV winner to allegedly use his jackpot winnings in ways that are outside the law. Last year, he won $500,000 on the CBS show Big Brother.

How would you use that kind of windfall? Well, Big Brother (the government one this time, not the network show) thinks he knows how he spent it.

The release of the "Sex and the City" movie sequel may still be seven months away, but brace yourself for the onset of what's sure to be a nauseating barrage of promotional efforts. And at the reins of it is none other than the film's megawatt star, Sarah Jessica Parker.

WWD reports that Parker's third fragrance, SJP NYC, will hit stores in May, timed to the sequel's release. What's more, Coty, the fragrance behemoth behind the scent, is already "working with the film's producers and distributors to leverage the relationship."

As fans of the franchise probably remember, the 2.5-hour, big-screen version of "SATC" gave A-list exposure to a dizzying array of products (see Vanity Fair's roundup). And since the film grossed more than $500 million worldwide, you can bet brands will be elbowing their way into the sequel any way they can.

Here's hoping that any tie-ins between the launch of SJP NYC and "SATC 2" will occur way, way off-screen.

I'm 99% sure the creatives behind the film have too much class to write Parker's fragrance into the script. But if Carrie spritzes herself with the contents of a zebra/paisley/flowered bottle before she skips off to the rumored Stanford-Anthony wedding, I'm walking out of the theater.

Paul DiMeo is the staff carpenter on ABC's long-running tearjerker real estate hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and he knows a little something about building cool stuff in a crunch. For seven seasons now, he's swept into the lives of needy or deserving American families and granted them the gift of their lives: a whole new house in a week.

This Sunday, DiMeo and the crew on the bus pull into Texas, where they help a family who moved into a fixer-upper, intending to renovate it, when disaster struck. Unable to afford a change, they were stuck with a real estate lemon. In this recession, it's happened to a lot of us.

So if you don't have a lot of money to make over your own house, where you should start? DiMeo has two answers for that budget quandary. The first answer is the kitchen, a room that promises a lot of bang for the buck because families tend to spend a lot of their time there. But if a reinvention of that single room is too rich for your blood, DiMeo has an even cheaper suggestion of where your dollar can go the furthest.

DiMeo, who is spending a rare week at his own home, phoned WalletPop's Jason Cochran by Skype this week to talk to him about the upcoming episode and to dispense a few nuggets of renovation wisdom. And what room does DiMeo spent the most time in? You may regret asking.