Financial Guru, Gail Vaz-Oxlade: Managing Your Money

celebrity mommy
| by Christy Laverty
Financial Guru, Gail Vaz-Oxlade:
Managing Your Money
She has helped parents, families, homeowners and even a few princesses along the way. She is a mother
of two and a financial guru with several television shows and books under her belt. Gail Vaz-Oxlade is one
tough cookie when it comes to helping people get control of their finances.
Born in Jamaica in 1959 Vaz-Oxlade came to Canada in 1977.
After moving to Canada she began her journey into the world
of finance, first working as an administrative assistant and later
taking a job in marketing. In her role she did a great deal of
writing which led to writing assignments for a banking client. One
assignment had her writing a manual for a Registered Retirement
Savings Plan. She was soon writing all of the bank’s technical
materials. Before long she became a freelance writer crafting
more than 25 columns a month on money issues.
Years later, using all her money know-how, she began hosting
the television show, Til Debt Do Us Part. After seven seasons,
Vaz-Oxlade created another show, Princess. Both shows focus
Gail Vaz-oxlade,
Financial Guru
on teaching people how to use money, save and get serious
about their financial responsibilities. She uses tough love to teach
people some hard lessons.
Vaz-Oxlade even finds time in her busy schedule to write
books. She is the author of It’s Your Money: Becoming a Woman
of Independent Means and Money-Smart Kid$. Gail knows these
topics well and some struggles women face when it comes to
balancing life, children and money. As a mother of two teenagers,
she has first-hand experience. Her insights came from the same
growing pains other women have encountered through marriage;
divorce; becoming a mom and being a working mom. Are you a saver, or a spender?
Vaz-Oxlade suggests we all need
to figure out our relationship with
money, why we have it and once we
do, how we can get control of it.
She was inspired to write the book, It’s Your Money because
of startling statistics that paint a difficult financial picture for
women in Canada. According to Vaz-Oxlade, after divorce a
man’s income tends to go up but a woman’s income tends to go
down even though a significant number of woman head up single
parent families.
It’s Your Money starts by helping the reader work through their
money personality. Are you a saver, or a spender? Vaz-Oxlade
suggests we all need to figure out our relationship with money,
why we have it and once we do, how we can get control of it.
So why do some women struggle with their finances?
Vaz-Oxlade suggests women typically think the numbers are
overwhelming. They don’t like the jargon and relate better to
practical how-tos. And that is precisely what Vaz-Oxlade does
with her book, her shows and all of the advice she doles out.
One thing that plays a role in the relationship women have
with money is the fact they are often the shoppers in the family/
household. “There are many who have turned it into an art (the
race to find a bargain) and they don’t realize they don’t need
what they are buying” says Vaz-Oxlade. And we often have our
children in toe, and by doing that we are teaching our children
how to spend, and ultimately moulding their money personality.
8 | www.urbanbaby.ca | spring 2012
And that is where Vaz-Oxlade’s book Smart Money Kids$
comes in. Every parent wants to raise independent, strong
children; or rather we want to raise responsible, independent,
and strong adults. Teaching our children about money and
how to properly spend, save and share is so important but
with so many of us struggling with our own finances it can be
hard to do.
Vaz-Oxlade says a healthy, balanced attitude towards
money beings in childhood. “You have to give kids enough
money so they can actually work with it, incorporating the
lessons you want to teach.” And that is why Vaz-Oxlade says
allowance is an essential way to deal with money and children.
The beauty of this book is that while teaching our children
about money, we learn about being more responsible with our
own money. As parents we need to learn to be good “money
role models”. Money can be a stress-free part of life. According to VazOxlade, when women take responsibility for their financial
futures, they demonstrate to their children how to be
financially-strong, independent men and women. •
SLEEP_UrbanB_JANAD_CA.pdf
C
WIN
M
Y
CM
a copy of Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s Books,
It’s Your Money: Becoming a
Woman of Independent Means
&
MY
CY
CMY
K
Money-Smart Kid$
Enter online at
WWW.URBANBABY.CA
spring 2012 | www.urbanbaby.ca | 9
1/27/12
2:50:36 PM