Oprah's Debt Diet
I've been watching Oprah's debt diet this week hoping for pointers on how to save money. But let me tell you, the families profiled are a trip. They make about $100,000 per year and spend about as much per day.
In the throes of financial strife, one woman seemingly dove off her front porch and tore her rotator cuff. She said it's a yearly thing--falling off her porch. I'm sorry, but I already know not to fall off my porch annually.
Then her financial counselor suggested she sell some of her daughter's designer clothes on ebay for quick cash. She was going to get $200 from her daughters jeans alone, but she wouldn't do it! So her husband had to say he paid $26 instead of $20 for gas so that he could buy Pabst Blue Ribbon. He was caught on hidden camera.
But I did get a few good pointers. For instance, you're supposed to put all your grocery/entertainment cash in an envelope at the beginning of the month and when it's gone it's gone. By taking your lunch to work, you can save like $1,000 per year, too. We're going to try it, and see what happens.
Also, you can get your credit card balance transferred to a zero interest account with a little haggling over the phone. Now, the real coup will be getting our credit card balance to zero. We made a budget and it looks like we should be on our way now...if I don't fall off the porch.
Watching the show kind of made me feel superior. "Well," I thought haughtily, "I certainly don't buy Baby Grand pianos as if they're gum at the checkout counter."
But honestly, late movie fees, fender benders, forgetting to make dinner and ordering pizza, writing in this blog instead of drumming up more business (oops, doing that right now) --I do my share of diving off the porch.
Oprah said people are living their lives unconscious about money. But the main thing with us is I need to bring in more income. I mean we are pretty darn cheap already. Our old budget plan, for instance, was, "Don't spend any money on anything."
To make more money, I have three new customers, hopefully. So I'll be writing in this blog a little less if it all pans out. If I'm still writing in this everyday, feel free to tell me, "Stop diving off the porch."
In the throes of financial strife, one woman seemingly dove off her front porch and tore her rotator cuff. She said it's a yearly thing--falling off her porch. I'm sorry, but I already know not to fall off my porch annually.
Then her financial counselor suggested she sell some of her daughter's designer clothes on ebay for quick cash. She was going to get $200 from her daughters jeans alone, but she wouldn't do it! So her husband had to say he paid $26 instead of $20 for gas so that he could buy Pabst Blue Ribbon. He was caught on hidden camera.
But I did get a few good pointers. For instance, you're supposed to put all your grocery/entertainment cash in an envelope at the beginning of the month and when it's gone it's gone. By taking your lunch to work, you can save like $1,000 per year, too. We're going to try it, and see what happens.
Also, you can get your credit card balance transferred to a zero interest account with a little haggling over the phone. Now, the real coup will be getting our credit card balance to zero. We made a budget and it looks like we should be on our way now...if I don't fall off the porch.
Watching the show kind of made me feel superior. "Well," I thought haughtily, "I certainly don't buy Baby Grand pianos as if they're gum at the checkout counter."
But honestly, late movie fees, fender benders, forgetting to make dinner and ordering pizza, writing in this blog instead of drumming up more business (oops, doing that right now) --I do my share of diving off the porch.
Oprah said people are living their lives unconscious about money. But the main thing with us is I need to bring in more income. I mean we are pretty darn cheap already. Our old budget plan, for instance, was, "Don't spend any money on anything."
To make more money, I have three new customers, hopefully. So I'll be writing in this blog a little less if it all pans out. If I'm still writing in this everyday, feel free to tell me, "Stop diving off the porch."
posted by Midwest Mama at 4:16 AM
2 Comments:
You're so funny! I tried some of the tips once - pay off the smallest bills first, keeping them paid up and then go to the next smallest until they are all paid off. It worked because I really was concentrating and having fun watching the dept go away. Reading this is encouraging me to start over again!!!!
Bridge,
I am cracking up! I am going on the debt diet...I will let you know how it goes...please don't stop writing the blog....EVER!
love
erin
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