Oprah's Debt Diet Pt.4

**McD** · 03-24-2006, 05:50 PM

Did anyone see Oprah's Debt Diet Pt. 4 today? This one appealed to me as a viewer more because it showed families that were actually committed to getting rid of debt. One man gave up half of his season's tickets to football games, it showed families dropping their extras on their cable package etc. It seemed so much more realistic than the lady two weeks ago who didn't mail her husband's child support pymt because she was mad at him.

Any thoughts?

**homesteadmamma** · 03-24-2006, 06:13 PM

I missed part of it, however did get to watch about 30 minutes of it. I agree, the one couple I was able to see are really working hard at getting rid of their debt. She even bought a pair of pants and returned them because she felt so bad. Good for them!!!!

The next episode is April 7.

**McD** · 03-24-2006, 06:20 PM

That is exactly what I mean. It just seemed so much more honest this week, ya know?

**AmyMCGS** · 03-24-2006, 06:21 PM

Yes, I liked today's episode, too.

I was amazed at the number of credit cards that one couple had-- they must have had 10-12 different credit cards. Wow!

Did you all like the lady who'd never shopped with a grocery cart before? Her family ate out for three meals a day. Now they're teaching her to cook and shop, and she's saving a ton of money.

**McD** · 03-24-2006, 06:26 PM

I saw her!! 100$ a day on food---every day. It blew my mind! Now for my confession----I had a ton of credit cards.

At the peak I had Sears, Old Navy, Greenbergs, Target, JC Penney, Stage, Maurices, WalMart, American Eagle, Helzberg, Victorias Secret, Limited, Visa, Dell as well as my car payment and two personal loans. This was at age 19. Scary huh?

**bee9984** · 03-24-2006, 06:33 PM

I saw the last 1/2 of the show but it comes on again in 1/2 an hour so dh and I are going to watch it together. I really enjoyed what I saw of it, can't wait to see the first 1/2

**Renee-2kids** · 03-24-2006, 08:33 PM

They are the same families that they are following throughout the series. The woman learning to cook is the same woman who threw a fit about her hair.

I thought today was much more realistic than the other shows I've seen. They still don't show someone cooking from scratch on one of THOSE days when you are exhaused and don't feel good. I struggle to not send dh out for takeout on those kinds of days!

**McD** · 03-24-2006, 09:28 PM

Are they really the same families? That boggles my mind. Maybe it's just that everything is a bit more realistic this time.

**homesteadmamma** · 03-24-2006, 09:34 PM

Yes they are the same families. Kinda like everyone here - once they get the knowledge, they are able to work at getting their debt paid off. Knowledge is POWER!!

**Michelle** · 03-25-2006, 07:19 AM

Did you see that they bought that one family all kinds of kitchen appliances, dishes, etc? Unbelievable...I was drooling over that Cuisinart!

**northernmom2boys** · 03-25-2006, 07:37 AM

I was laughing to myself whn I watched it.They told one lady to keep her groceries to 150 a week,I was like oh the ladies at frugal village could do better than that lol
I just have a feeling that family they bought all the kitchen stuff for will have a relapse after they all leave.The mother doesnt seem very happy about it all
Michelle

**midwestgal** · 03-25-2006, 06:49 PM

I agree with you Michelle! This family (can't remember their name right off, but they owe $170,000) just seem overwhelmed to me. I read on the internet that this was probably the first time that she pushed a grocery cart through a store! They seem to have SO many deep, deep issues to deal with in their lives and marriage. I think it will be very difficult for them to make lasting, effective changes. The key to change is baby steps, and trying to fix everything at once (even though it desperately needs to be fixed) will probably be a recipe for disaster.

**jzkitten** · 03-25-2006, 08:28 PM

I missed this totally. Couldn't find it on the stations here. Some sports game was on.

**MessyKat** · 03-27-2006, 01:19 PM

I have been following this series since the 2nd show. I think all of the couples have made great progress and like someone said, it takes baby steps.

Since I am at work when Oprah is on, I schedule my lunch hour every other friday at 4:00 so I can follow the series and take notes.

The family where the woman bought the pants and took them back, did I see there debt was a little over $43,000? I would trade with them anytime...I am single have only 1 credit card with a $300 limit and my debt is over $145,000. Yes, you read it right. It scares me to even type it.

The second or third show was the one for me. When they were talking about why people spend. It really hit home for me, because the reasoning came out to be, because we think we are not enough. Because we are not enough, we buy more to try to make us be worthy and then feel guilty and unworthy for spending. It really is one vicious cycle.

Baby steps, baby steps. Which is why when I am wanting to go the bbq place across the street and have lunch and a $5 bread pudding, I am sitting at my desk eating a off-brand of vegtable soup. Not only am I helping my financial situation, it is more healthy for me.

The woman who did not mail the child support was not mad at her husband, but she was mad at his ex-wife, which is why she didn't mail the payment. No excuse tho'. Children first, always! Of course that is easy for me to say, I don't have any kdis.

The one thing I find is I have to keep my finances on my mind almost all the time, or I will just go to the store and buy stuff, knowing the money is not in my account (now I ask you, how stupid is that???)

I balance my checkbook daily. I get online to see what has cleared and mark it off in my checkbook. The biggest stuggle in this regard is when I use my debit card and do not write it in my checkbook. My way of overcoming this is to keep EVERY receipt and put it in my day planner so I know what I have spent every single day and write it in my checkbook.

**littlemotherhaywood** · 03-27-2006, 01:56 PM

The debt in my signature doesn't include $85,000 in student loans between dh and I, a $14,000 car loan, or our $83,000 mortgage. That's right...it's all cc debt. I don't know how many actual cc's we have between us. I know we probably have at least five to seven that don't have any type of balance. These are store and gas cards. I have an unactivated upromise citicard that I refuse to activate and use. At least half of that debt was accrued while my dh was unemployed.

I do relate to the last family the most because we started doing those things a year ago.....just a year too late. Our income changed but our standard of living didn't. We don't drive flashy or even new cars and we don't wear designer label clothing. I've shopped at thrift stores and consignment sales as well as on ebay for my kids clothing. I get a couple of things a year for myself. This year, I'll need to replace all of my shorts as I've lost a lot of weight and don't have anything that doesn't fall off even with a belt. I breastfed both of my kids because it was healthy and economical. We buy generic brand diapers. I would have gone cloth, but dh was against it and we had a really good income two years ago when our ds was born. Now he's going to be potty training so kind of irrelevant. We don't have cable. We keep our phone and internet services to those we feel we absolutely must have. I don't go out a lot because all of my friends seem to have money to burn and I don't. My biggest connection to the outside world is online so I don't feel that it's frivolous.

I can't imagine not shopping with a grocery cart. I not only use one (or a basket if it's a small trip), but I also bring a list, a fistful of coupons and sometimes even the calculator if I don't think I can handle the math, lol. I don't always cook from scratch, but I know how. I try to prepare in bulk to save time for those days when I'm tired. Let's just say sandwich night has become a regular occurrence here when everyone is tired and we don't have anything quick to pull out of the freezer. Better pb&j than a meal out. Plus, we almost always can't eat all of what is served when we dine out so it's such a waste in so many ways. I'd rather have my sandwich.

I'm just baffled by those first two families I guess. I know that our numbers probably really compare, but how we got there was a lot different. Maybe there should be a support group for spenders. I catch myself wanting to shop every time I feel down, bored, etc... I always felt guilty though when I would buy something for myself or something that we didn't "need."

Sorry to ramble. The truth has been really painful and shocking for us and now I'm seeing that we're a lot more like "them" than I thought we were