Gail Vaz-Oxlade, for those of you who don't know, is the personal finance genius who stars in Til Debt Do U$ Part on Slice. I started watching this show a couple of months ago when Dave and I first started talking about how to get our finances under control. (I was just looking for something to watch in the middle of the afternoon while spending time with the baby.) I fell in love with the show and with Gail for two reasons; first, the show highlighted real people who were courageous enough to face up to and seek help for them debt issues, and second, Gail helped people deal with these issues in practical, doable and realistic ways...her approach is no-nonsense, but she has a soft touch at the same time.
I don't know what took me so long to Google her and see what was online, but I only did that this week and discovered her blog . Gail's blog is not only interesting and easy to read, but she also provides a WONDERFUL array of resources, tips, tools and articles for people to download and put to use to help them get on the road to debt freedom and financial health. For example, I downloaded the budget spreadsheet that has all the fields and formulas set up, so all you do is punch in your numbers and it does all sorts of great calculations for you. It tells you what percentage of your income is spent on what parts of you life (housing, transportation, etc) and what percentage it should be; it shows you how much money should be allocated to the "money jars", if you are implementing this neat tool of hers to monitor and control your spending; it also allows you to develop a balanced budget that accounts for things like an emergency fund and savings. Just this tool and the article on setting up the Budget Binder are worth the price of admission (which, btw, is $0)!
I highly recommend Gail, her show, her blog, her tools and everything else related to Gail Vaz-Oxlade! I'll be referring to her again and updating you all on how the use of her tools is working for us.
Cheers!
-Erin and Dave
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
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