Did anyone see Dollars and Sense on TV?

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Registered: 03-27-2003
Did anyone see Dollars and Sense on TV?
4
Wed, 06-22-2005 - 7:48am

I was cross-stitching last night and like TV for background. I can't remember the channel but Clark Howard did a show called Dollars and Sense where his wife went to the home of 3 couples and then the couple came on his radio show to receive advice about getting out of debt. They did a follow-up about a month later. It was interesting both to hear what he said out loud and what his wife hinted at during the tours.

Couple #1-144,000 in CC debt. Both couples did a lot of shopping and bought things they really didn't "need" His advice was cutting up the CC, a ban on shopping, grocery shop for nonperishables 12 times a year and perishables every 2 weeks, hold a garage sale for the money but for the psychological understanding that all that stuff they bought is just things.

Couple #2-I think it was 50,000 in total debt. She was a realtor with a variable income and they had an 8 month old and another baby on the way. His advice was freezing the CC (literally), setting up a budget where they could live on the husband's income while using her commission checks to pay down the debt.

Couple #3-20,000 in CC debt amassed over 6 months. She's a SAHM who loves to spend money especially on her children. The husband hates it but doesn't communicate well. In this case, the advice was just setting a weekly spending limit for the wife but also that the couple had to communicate about money verbally because the husband was just leaving negative notes instead of talking about it.

Clark Howard's wife didn't say anything specific but she made comments about the size of all 3 homes (I know he advocates smaller/less expensive homes), whether cars were bought new or used and in the closets pointed out all the clothes that still had tags.

Couple 1 didn't seem entirely convinced a month later but 2 & 3 were following the advice. None of the ideas were entirely new but it's interesting to see them carried out.

Taleyna

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 06-22-2005 - 12:01pm
Shoot - I missed this, but will see if it will be rerun anytime soon.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2004
Wed, 06-22-2005 - 1:10pm

I happened to catch parts of it too. I had never heard of Clark Howard before, but was impressed with the common sense of what he said. I was so impressed with how well all three couples got along. Where's all the fights and blaming? I wonder if he has advice for singles? I'm still struggling with my income dropping by 75% post divorce. Gotta quit whining!

None of these changes seemed very dramatic to me. I wonder if they were big enough to permanently solve these couples' problems--esp. #1.

I'm personally trying to put myself on what I call a "spending fast" -- only buying absolute necessities -- for the rest of the summer. I am missing some of my "hobby" activities, but I don't really have enough time for them either.

I'm gonna go right now and see if I can find some more info. written by this Clark Howard. What do ya'll know about his advice?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-13-2005
Wed, 06-22-2005 - 1:40pm

After hearing about this show and guy (never heard of him before this post) I went online to check him out. He has a radio show between 1 and 4 (Eastern Time) that you can hear on the internet. I am listening to him now and he is talking about buying medicine from Canada (he is all for buying drugs from Canada).

Jennifer

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 06-22-2005 - 1:48pm
Clark is an avid protector of consumers.

All my best,
Danni