Dr. Oz: Detox From Your Debt
It’s Detox Week on Dr. Oz, which means all week he’s dedicating his show to detoxing. Today, Dr. Oz talked about a debt detox. Does that seem like a stretch to anyone else?
Anyway, Dr. Oz talked to several women with debt problems who are hiding it from their families and their partners. Their debt ranged from $1600 to $45,000. Most of this was credit card debt, which makes you wonder how many credit cards that last woman has.
Dr. Oz talked about ways to cut down your debt over a 7 day detox, including freezing your credit card, making changes slowly, and keeping a money journal. (famzoo / flickr)
Dr. Oz talked to financial expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, who discussed a money management plan to help people get their debt down. This plan takes only 7 days and it’s a quick detox.
Dr. Oz: Keep a Money Journal
The first woman with a problem was Colleen, who was in $2,000 of credit card debt. She said she went crazy when she first got her credit card and ran up all the charges.
Lynette suggested she keep a money journal. When people keep a food journal, they tend to lose weight. People who track their spending also get this benefit. Write down everything you spend money on, from the mortgage payment to a stick of gum. Then, at the end of the day, highlight the discretionary spending and focus on eliminating at least three items for the next day. This will help save you some money. Colleen was able to knock out $9.58 for the day. Over the course of the week, that’s $67. Over a year, that’s $3,487.
Dr. Oz: Make Changes Slowly
The next key thing to change your finances is to make changes slowly. You should make sure to do things that are sustainable and you can do long term.
For one day of the 7 day detox, don’t spend any money. This is to prove yourself that you can do it. Don’t even buy a stick of gum.
Dr. Oz: Eat at Home
For the whole week, eat at home. Make your lunches in advance and prepare your dinners at home. This will save a lot of money, especially if you go out to eat a lot.
Dr. Oz: Eliminate Temptation
Lynette advises you put your credit card on ice, literally. Put it in a Tupperware dish and freeze it in water. This will force you to defrost it in order to use it. No one addressed whether this would damage your card, but I would think it would. I would be careful before doing this.
Dr. Oz: What Do People Want to Talk About Least?
Dr. Oz asked his audience what subject they would least like to talk about and the result was that 46 percent didn’t want to talk about money.
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