YNAB You Need A Budget

[glenndon]

Just curious if there are any other people on here who watch the TV show "Til Debt Do Us Part."

It is a Canadian show, so I'm not sure if the Americans (or anyone else) can watch it or something similar. The premise of the show is that most marriages/relationships that fail, one of the main reasons (or the main reason) is due to money problems.

Basically, the host of the show goes to a couple who are in financial trouble (over spending on the budget, large amount of consumer debt, etc) and helps them out. She generally sets up a budget, including making them live on cash (out of jars). She then gives them a series of challenges, which are different for each show and generally caters to their particular situation. If they do all the challenges to her satisfaction, she'll award them up to $5000 to put towards their debt.

I don't like the money in jars aspect, but I have learned a few things watching the show, and seeing how she suggests people deal with their financial woes.

Anything else similar out there, or any comments?

Glenn

[YYC27]

I've watched a few episodes. It's entertaining in its own way .. but I think Gail cooks the books a bit when she starts talking about the numbers. And a lot of what she gets the couple to do doesn't seem sustainable over the long haul. A poster on another forum put it nicely ..

One thing I get a kick of on this show is people that are like $200K in debt, with it growing exponentially by the day. After a few weeks of cutting back, Gail tells them "If you keep putting five hundred dollars a month against your debt each month, you will be debt free within 10 years!", and then the couple's eyes just light up and they look at each other like they've just won the lottery.

Don't they realize the hardship and sacrifices they will need to make for that to happen?

[glenndon]

In any episode I've seen, it has never taken more then 36 months to pay off the vast majority of the consumer debt. However you are correct in some of the numbers... she does mention how much they spend 'over budget' and many times the numbers seem high (to the extreme) and always mentions how they will be '500k in debt in 5 years' which with the earning power of many of the couples, I'm sure that lenders would cut off the credit well before then...

[lautzu]

don't like the money in jars aspect

I've never seen the show, but YNAB isn't that different from money in jars - they're just electronic...

[blarg]

There's a British show that we get here called Spendaholics. I watch it whenever it rocks up on the TiVo.

[glenndon]

don't like the money in jars aspect

I've never seen the show, but YNAB isn't that different from money in jars - they're just electronic...

Agreed. I guess I'm just more into electronic stuff.

Glenn

[LoneStar]

I've seen the show and like it. True, using the shock value to wake up couples (If you keep overspending at this rate, you'll be $xxx,xxx dollars in debt in 5 years.) makes for good ratings; but I honestly think many people don't realize the possible consequences (head in the sand) of their overspending. I've also seen Gail not give any money or give only a portion to couples when she felt their actions and attitude showed they hadn't truly bought into the concept and were just going through the motions to get the $5,000.

I don't mind the jars idea; it's similar to the envelope system my parents, who were children and young adults during the Great Depression, used. It's very visual, and makes good TV. Even in our private lives, we sometimes need something that is visible and tangible. I know I think twice about spending that cold, hard cash when I see how much is left in the jar. Sort of like training wheels before graduating to YNAB. Jesse always cautions about becoming too far removed from our actual cash and automating too many things. Dave Ramsey even recommends using cash for some categories. If you have a spending problem, most likely you have many excuses to justify your spending and evade the truth. In the beginning, as part of our recovery, cash accounts force you to be honest about what you're spending. Keep it simple at first.

[Trevor]

I just scheduled my TiVo to record an episode. I remember watching it once in the past, but I completely forgot about it. It's on CNBC in the U.S.

[JillH]

I really like the show. I too agree that they end up declaring bankruptcy before 5 years (and a few couples had already been in bankruptcy) but I like her approach.

[dpandslemmen]

It is an interesting show for those nights when I can't sleep I will caught an episode or two. They are on after my bedtime.

But it turely is an interesting show.

[nfinner]

I have actually looked at her book and did the paperwork for us. It is crazy to see how much you actually overspend without thinking about it. Made me realized how bad we were.

[Trevor]

I hadn't seen an episode when I chimed in before, but now that my TiVo is catching two episodes every weekend I find myself looking forward to each episode.

Thanks to YNAB I won't need a visit from Gail Von-Oxlade. I don't think learn anything new from the show, but I do find it entertaining.

[Angel]

I love this show! I don't use the cash jars, that's what YNAB is for! but I like to implement alot of Gail's ideas. I also found her website helpful with her budget worksheet. It made me realize that I was missing a lot of categories in my budget that were needed. This show is where I got my budgeting start from and I look forwards to it each week! <3