Last Saturday, I had an adventure, I headed to Coburg, Ontario for “Lunch with Gail”. I got up at 4 am to catch the train and headed out of the city. My friend March Berg (the owner of Mortages for Women) was my wonderful hostess for the day.

The lunch was a fundraiser for the Northhumberland Services for women. They offer not only emergency shelter, and second stage housing but a number of on going services. So it was great to go and support such a worthwhile cause.

I am glad I went. I learned some lessons from Gail. If you don’t know who Gail is well she is a leading Canadian money guru. She has hosted Til Debt Do Us Part and currently hosts Princesses, which is just starting to tape its new season. She is also an author with several titles under her belt. Her most recent Never Too Late.

I love Gail as she tells it like it is, she pulls no punches. If you are off your rocker she will gladly tell you so. If you get invited to lunch with Gail, go! You will laugh so hard you want to pee, meanwhile learning all along.

What did I learn?

Well the whole talk had one theme SAVING.There were 5 lessons that she shared that I thought I would share with you. There were other take aways but I thought I would share these.

1. There are 4 rules that we all should be living by. First, don’t spend more then you make. Time after time when I watched Til Debt Do Us Part, this was always the first thing she made sure people were doing. Second, SAVE for the future. Third, eliminate your debt. Now really, who does want to pay those interest rates? Not me. Lastly, prepare for emergencies. Do you have an emergency fund? I don’t and I know this is something I need.

2. Where does your money lie? Who among us has a Savings Account with one of Canada’s big 4 banks? Why? Really folks your money isn’t making you money. Now Iam actually going to suggest a bank-look at ING Direct when it comes to savings. They have a couple of products where you can earn higher interest. Gail simply said look Orange, but didnt say ING directly but I will.

3. Shop with a List. I have taught this here on the blog for a long time. If I didn’t shop with a list there is no way I could stay on budget or on task. Whether it be shopping for groceries or back to school list have a list of what you need and shop from it. Don’t get distracted by the bling.

4.Are you really saving? When  you get that 30% off are you really saving? How about when you use that coupon? You are only saving if you turn around and take that cash and put it in your pocket and don’t spend it some place else. You aren’t saving if you spend it some place else, you are just moving your money around.

5.A personal lesson. If you have read this blog for awhile you know last year I declared personal bankruptcy. I had too I was swimming in debt. I wrote about it in a 4 part series that was posted on Where Does All My Money Grow was kind enough to host on his blog. If you would like to read the series you can find it here. Well this month I was discharged from bankruptcy. The debt is now gone so During the Question and Answer, I asked about rebuilding credit: she told me of two options. One is a secured credit card: Capital One has one of these, another option was to talk to my bank about an RRSP loan. Both are viable options for those looking to rebuild credit after a discharge.

I was so glad I got to Coburg and “lunch with Gail”. I laughed and learned and got to share my day with some pretty great people. What lessons are you learning these days?

Source: http://commoncentsmom.com/2011/04/02/5-lessons-from-gail-vazoxlade/