Gail Vaz-Oxlade (born June 18, 1959) is a Jamaican-Canadian financial writer and television personality. Vaz-Oxlade hosts the Canadian television series Til Debt Do Us Part, Princess and, most recently, Money Moron. Vaz-Oxlade is also a regular columnist for Yahoo! Canada Finance. Previously, she was a regular feature writer for The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine magazine, IE: Money and MoneySense.ca, among others.[1][3] Gail most recently ventured into the divorce realm by offering financially based divorce services through Common Sense Divorce.
Gail Vaz-Oxlade | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gail Vaz June 18, 1959[1][2] |
| Nationality | Jamaican, Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Financial writer, television host |
Career
editVaz-Oxlade began her career after moving to Canada, working as an administrative assistant and later taking a job in marketing.[4] In that role she was asked by a banking client to write a manual for its employees on its Registered Retirement Savings Plan products, which grew into Vaz-Oxlade writing all of the bank's technical materials.[4] Within a number of years, Vaz-Oxlade began freelance writing, ultimately writing 27 columns every month.[1][4]
Citing burn-out, Vaz-Oxlade quit and moved to Brighton, Ontario with her family and over a two-year period did volunteer work and raised her family.[4] After that time, she was asked by a production company to host Til Debt Do Us Part.[4] In her role on that show, Vaz-Oxlade describes herself as a "super nanny for money".[1] After seven seasons of hosting the program, Vaz-Oxlade agreed to continue with the show if the network, Slice, allowed her to do a new show. The network agreed, resulting in the creation of Princess, which focuses on young women rather than couples.[4]
In 2011, Vaz-Oxlade began a campaign advocating for changes in the way lenders assess lending criteria, particularly for credit cards.[5] As part of that effort, Vaz-Oxlade urged Canadian consumers to stop using their credit cards for one week and pay cash only; as well, she urged Canadians to write to their Members of Parliament to urge changes in legislation restricting the use of credit scores in the granting of credit.[5]
Personal life
editBorn Gail Elizabeth Theresa Vaz[4] to a wealthy family in Jamaica, Vaz-Oxlade emigrated to Canada with her family in 1977. Her surname is the result of hyphenating her maiden name and her first husband's surname.[4] She has been married three times: the first marriage lasted one year; the second lasted nine years; and the third lasted eighteen years.[4] However, Vaz-Oxlade, in a money-saving endeavour, has not divorced her last husband. Rather, they are legally separated.[4] Vaz-Oxlade has two children, Alexandra (Alex) Kaitlin Prue and Malcolm Kenneth Prue.[3]
Books
editVaz-Oxlade has written numerous books, including:
- The RRSP Answer Book (Stoddart annually 1991–1998)[6]
- The Borrower's Answer Book (Stoddart 1993)[7]
- The Retirement Answer Book (Stoddart 1994,1996,1997)[8]
- Shopping for Money: Strategies for Successful Borrowing (Stoddart 1992,1999)[9]
- The Money Tree Myth: A Parents Guide to Helping Kids Unravel the Mysteries of Money (Stoddart 1993,1996)[10]
- A Woman of Independent Means: A Woman's Guide to Full Financial Security (Stoddart 1999)[11]
- Dead Cat Bounce: The Skinny of E-Vesting (Prentice Hall 2001)[12]
- Divorce: A Canadian Woman's Guide (Prentice Hall 2002)[13]
- Education Planning (CCH Canadian 1999)[14]
- Debt-Free Forever:Take Control of Your Money and Your Life (HarperCollins 2009)[15]
- Never Too Late: Take Control of Your Retirement and Your Future (HarperCollins 2010)[15]
- Debt-Free Forever:Take Control of Your Money and Your Life US Edition (Experiment 2010) [16]
- Easy Money (Grass Roots Press 2011)[17]
- Money-Smart Kids (HarperCollins 2011)[17]
- It's Your Money: Becoming a Woman of Independent Means (HarperCollins 2011)[15]
- Money Rules: Rule Your Money, Or Your Money Will Rule You (HarperCollins 2012)[15]
- Saving for School: Understand RESPs, Take Control of Your Savings, Minimize Student Debt (HarperCollins 2013)[15]
- Never Too Late: Take Control of Your Retirement and Your Future Revised Edition (HarperCollins 2013) [18]
- Money Talks: When to Say Yes and How to Say No (2015)
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Personal debt makes good reality television". Financial Post. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail (2011-06-17). "Tomorrow's My Birthday". Gailvazoxlade.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ a b Ellis, Suzanne (2011-11-20). "How to teach your kids about money". CityNews Toronto. Archived from the original on 2011-11-24. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hampson, Sarah (2010-01-30). "Gail Vaz-Oxlade: The accidental guru". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
- ^ a b McFeat, Tom (2011-11-07). "Banks hooking Canadians on credit, Gail Vaz-Oxlade says". CBC. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "The RRSP Answer Book by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "The Borrower's Answer Book by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "The Retirement Answer Book by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz, Gail. "Shopping For Money: Strategies For Successful Borrowing by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "The Money Tree Myth: A Parents' Guide to Helping Kids Unravel the Mysteries of Money by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "A Woman of Independent Means: A Woman's Guide to Full Financial Security by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz, Gail. "Dead Cat Bounce: The Skinny On E Vesting by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "Divorce: A Canadian Woman's Guide by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "Education planning by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ a b c d e "P.S. Literary Agency - Business by the Book". Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "Debt-Free Forever: Take Control of Your Money and Your Life by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ a b "Debt-Free Forever Book with Harper Collins". Gail Vaz-Oxlade. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
- ^ Vaz-Oxlade, Gail. "Never Too Late (Revised): Take Control of Your Retirement and Your Future by Gail Vaz-Oxlade — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.