Can a calculator save me? Yes. Thanks to Gail Vaz-Oxlade

I was going through some finances. You know all the gifts I get from my good friend "BILL" and started to think about what was better for me in the long run.

Is a spreadsheet the way to go?

Can a calculator save me?

Should I hire someone?

Should I simply pay the bill and forget it?

There are many things to do on this situation and so I did something I never thought I would actually do:

What did I do? The same thing that a lot of people should be doing right now with times the way they are.

I am now using:

Jars.

If you don't watch the wonderfully funny, informative and in your face television show :" Til Debt Do Us Part" hosted by the amazingly intelligent and funny Gail Vaz-Oxlade, well...you should start.

The basic idea is to get people to live for one month through a series of challenges both financially and relationship wise.

So what's with the jars?

Simple. Gail takes ALL your credit and debit cards and makes you live on cash. Not only on cash but on a set amount.

So, it seems to work for the couples on the show. As a result we (the wife and I) are going to start this and see where it goes.

Now if you don't know how to calculate what you should be doing I will give you a link along the way to show you how to set it up.

One great thing to do is go a week and write down everything you purchase. I did this and was quite disgusted with myself with the amount of money I personally spent on coffee alone. Us Canadians Love our Timmy's ;)

It amazes me how math and the beauty of compound interest can really add up.

So try these steps with a calculator ;)

1. Write all purchases down for 1 week.

2. Separate what is required and what isn't. Be Honest here. Do you really need the coffee and "pop"?

3. Now take the non essential purchase for the 1 week time frame and times it by 52. There is 52 weeks in the year n'est pas?

4. To really drive my point home. Take that total and calculate that amount of money including the interest you may have gained from a bank.

Amazing isn't it?

I am going all through the house this weekend and rolling up all of the change I found. The reason I am doing this is because on one of the episodes on "Til Debt Do Us Part" a couple found over $137.00 in change.

WOW!

What we have lying around the house could be lot's of extra cash. As the saying goes, count your pennies and the bills take care of themselves.

Here is the link to calculate how to use the Jars.

Good luck.

Question :

Could you truly live this way?

Get Your Finances Organized in 12 Steps

The Budget Planner

Thanks Gail for all you do!

Check out Gail's site here.