Woman of the Week: Gail Vaz-Oxlade

by Sara Mahmood

Gail Vaz-Oxlade, who many people recognize as the host of Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess, wasn’t always the financial guru we know today.

After immigrating to Canada in 1977, she went to college to become a legal secretary. “I was not a very good one,” Gail recalls, laughing. She isn’t joking: she was fired from her first three jobs.

Eventually she answered an ad for a small company that needed a word processing operator. She didn’t know how to use the equipment, but told her interviewer that she’d memorize the manual over the weekend. She got the job – they said it was because of her initiative, but Gail thinks her legs may have played a bigger role than the company would admit.

Gail didn’t become an expert overnight. She needed a way to get her name out there, so she started to write books on financial advice.  Her first book was published over 20 years ago. She’s still writing now and her latest book It’s Your Money was released this past December.

In It’s Your Money, Gail helps readers think about all the eventualities, look at how they feel about their money, and what their financial plan needs. The first two sections of the book offers a good foundation for money management. A financial plan should change as people grow up and go through life, so when there’s a big change, that’s when a reader should look at part three. The fourth part deals with all the just-in-cases, like divorce, unemployment, or disability. Gail describes the book as a guideline for getting through your life and adjusting the financial part with it.

While Gail was writing books, she was also freelance writing and at one point was writing 27 columns a month! All the hard work came at a cost and eventually Gail had to take a break. Her son was diagnosed with autism and Gail decided to home-school him. There was no way she could teach him and work full-time, so she decided to take some time off. Although her son went back to school a few months later, Gail took a whole two years off before she got a phone call asking her to host 'Til Debt Do Us Part.

Gail says her approach to finance is all about balance. After watching all her previous employers “bugger up,” she was the most sensible person she knew when she started working in the business. “You have to track where you’re spending, know what it is, and balance what you’re doing,” she says. She also says the fundamental rules of money are to make sure you don’t spend more than you make and always save something.

One of the biggest mistakes she’s seen self-employed people make is that they consider their business and personal money as one in the same. During good times, they spend it all, leaving nothing for the bad times. “You should take enough to live on and put the rest away for the inevitable cold spell,” she advises.

Gail also sees a lot of businesswomen who take care of themselves get distracted by things that are less important in the end. “We’re so busy covering all the bases by ourselves. We need to delegate what we do,” she says.

With only a handful of episodes of Princess left, Gail’s already starting to work on a new series. She can’t reveal any details yet, but says she’s really excited about it.

To read more about Gail and get some great financial advice, visit her website at http://www.gailvazoxlade.com.

Photo by Shannon J. Ross