The Superstar Money Summit: The 30-Day Debt Diet | Oz Finance
Time to focus on your financial health! Debt is the love handle of the financial world. Here are some real and tangible solutions to slim down what you owe from 3 financial experts Nicole Lapin, Lynette Khalfani-Cox, and Ric Edelman.
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00:00 Today, back by popular demand, a Dr. Oz show,
00:04 Superstar Money Summit.
00:07 And for the first time, we're revealing
00:08 the 30-day debt diet.
00:10 You heard right, it's a debt diet.
00:12 This isn't about cutting carbs, though.
00:14 It's about slashing debt, which, let's face it,
00:17 you know, it's a big deal.
00:18 Debt is the love handles of the financial world, right?
00:21 And you're gonna see results in just 30 days.
00:24 And you need relief now because the coronavirus pandemic
00:27 has spiked debt in homes all across the country.
00:29 So today, we have real solutions
00:31 from the best money minds out there.
00:33 Meet the superstars, Nicole Lappin,
00:38 Lynette Calfani-Cox, and Rick Edelman.
00:41 With 10 personal finance books,
00:43 in the bank bestselling author Rick Edelman
00:45 has been named one of the country's top 10
00:47 financial advisors by Forbes Magazine.
00:50 I started my radio show 28 years ago
00:53 to bring the secrets of Wall Street to mainstream
00:56 because I truly believe that the secrets to wealth
00:59 are not just for the rich.
01:01 Using Rick's advice, millions of regular folks
01:04 have learned to retire with a million dollars.
01:07 Oh, I've advised everyone from Oprah Winfrey
01:09 on her TV show to my own auntie.
01:12 And today, I'm coaching you.
01:15 Financial expert and New York Times
01:17 bestselling author, Nicole Lappin,
01:19 went from living paycheck to paycheck
01:21 to calling herself a rich you-know-what.
01:24 And now, she's helping others do the same.
01:27 I believe that true financial success comes from balance.
01:31 Nicole teaches budgeting and saving
01:33 in her online personal finance course, Money School.
01:36 But she's also a huge proponent of always leaving room
01:39 in your financial diet for some fun.
01:41 People say to me all the time,
01:43 "I cut out the morning latte, I am doing so great."
01:46 And then four months later, they're like,
01:48 "I bought this expensive purse
01:49 "because I didn't buy the latte."
01:51 And I say, "Hello, Captain Obvious,
01:53 "if you just got that latte every day,
01:55 "you would keep yourself motivated and on track."
01:58 I'm Lynette Calfani Cox, and I'm the money coach.
02:02 Former Wall Street Journal reporter
02:03 and contributor to dozens of news programs.
02:06 With a flair for super relatable advice,
02:09 it's no wonder Cox is one of the most
02:11 highly sought after financial experts.
02:13 She paid off $100,000 worth of credit card debt
02:17 in just three years, and since then,
02:19 has used her skills to teach millions about money management.
02:23 I don't think that most people look in the mirror
02:25 and see a wealthy person, but we all can be,
02:28 and we're gonna show you how.
02:30 I'm Giddy, they're all here today,
02:34 including Nicole's right next to me.
02:35 So explain to everybody, what is a debt diet,
02:37 and why 30 days?
02:39 So think of a regular diet, right?
02:40 You're cutting calories.
02:42 In a debt diet, we're cutting cents.
02:44 And in some cases, we're actually cutting
02:46 a few cents here and there, and it really adds up.
02:48 You know Einstein?
02:49 He's a pretty smart dude.
02:50 He said that compounding interest is the eighth wonder
02:53 of the world, so let your money work for you.
02:56 And think of this as a regular diet, as you do.
02:59 Allow yourself small indulgences,
03:01 like a dark chocolate piece every now and then.
03:05 The best.
03:06 So you don't end up binging later on.
03:07 All right, so Rara Lays, two weeks into this debt diet.
03:11 So let me just start off with why.
03:13 Why'd you need a debt diet, and why'd you need it now?
03:16 Yeah, so Dr. Oz, I really needed a debt diet
03:20 because I just transitioned from earning six figures
03:23 to just really launching my small business
03:26 and going the entrepreneur route,
03:28 and I knew that I needed to drastically
03:32 decrease the amount of money I spent
03:34 on a weekly and monthly basis.
03:37 So you've been documenting your experiences
03:39 on this debt diet, and I can't wait
03:40 to see how it's going for you.
03:41 But first, I wanna bring in Rick Edelman,
03:43 who has the first step of our 30-day debt diet,
03:46 and it is to go on an intermittent money fast.
03:48 I love that phraseology.
03:50 The intermittent money fast is gonna happen on Tuesdays,
03:52 it's gonna happen on Thursdays.
03:53 Walk us through it.
03:54 Dr. Oz, you're right.
03:55 You always sing the praises
03:57 of intermittent fasting for weight loss.
03:59 Well, guess what?
04:00 It works for your money too.
04:01 I find that no-spend days are a perfect way
04:04 to focus on not spending.
04:06 The best thing about them is that they're only for one day.
04:09 You don't need to stock up before having a no-spend day.
04:12 You can have them multiple times a week,
04:13 like you say, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
04:16 And the more no-spend days you have,
04:18 the more money you save.
04:19 And a no-spend day is exactly what it says,
04:22 not spending on anything, just for 24 hours.
04:26 That means pack your lunch
04:27 or shop your cupboard for dinner.
04:30 Just check what you have in the house.
04:31 You've got a lot of food in the house,
04:32 so eat that instead of shopping for more food.
04:35 It's like when you say, "Oh, I have nothing to wear,"
04:37 but your closet's full of clothes.
04:39 All right, so Raraleigh put your advice to,
04:42 she actually put it to the test,
04:43 and she did her money fast.
04:45 Here's her experience.
04:47 - Hey guys, what's up?
04:48 It's your girl, Raraleigh, and it is Tuesday.
04:51 I am so excited because this is my very first
04:55 intermittent Tuesday.
04:57 So far, it's going good.
05:00 However, it is lunchtime and your girl is starving,
05:03 so I am hungry.
05:05 So I'm gonna go ahead and check inside the fridge,
05:08 see what I can come up with.
05:11 Nothing in the fridge so far,
05:12 so let me check in my cabinet.
05:15 Okay, so I got some jelly,
05:19 and I got some peanut butter.
05:21 So PB&J it is.
05:24 By the way, one of my friends invited me out
05:28 for dinner tonight.
05:29 However, that is definitely not gonna be in my budget,
05:32 so I'm gonna have to sit that one out today.
05:34 I'm feeling pretty confident that I'm gonna be able
05:36 to stay in this intermittent fast challenge
05:40 and really prove that I can do this.
05:43 I'm excited.
05:45 Raraleigh, I'm excited too.
05:46 Just seeing that smile on your face
05:47 when you find that PB&J.
05:48 Right.
05:49 So how much extra do you think you were spending
05:51 that you just didn't even realize was happening?
05:54 A lot.
05:55 I, a lot.
05:57 I started going through my bank statement and everything,
06:00 and a lot of these food ordering things that I was doing
06:03 was just really, really running up how much I spent
06:07 on a daily basis, at least sometimes 100 to $150 a day,
06:12 which was ridiculous.
06:13 That's a lot of money.
06:15 It is.
06:16 Nicole's jaw just dropped to mine.
06:17 All right, Lynette, let me come to you.
06:19 You say to buy your groceries online
06:21 and check the labels for unit price, not the total price.
06:25 That's correct.
06:26 So listen, if you're one of those people who,
06:28 you're just kind of a sucker for every deal
06:30 that you see in the store
06:31 when you go in the store grocery shopping,
06:34 you're probably gonna save money by shopping online,
06:37 even if you have to, you know, kick in a couple extra bucks
06:40 to have it delivered to you or maybe even to pick it up.
06:43 So, 'cause here's the thing, when you're shopping online,
06:45 you get to actually see your total right there
06:47 in black and white as everything is creeping up.
06:50 So that'll kind of encourage you to stay within the budget.
06:52 You also get to do some cost comparisons.
06:54 You can, you know, shop at different sites,
06:57 but you also want to do something smart, like any diet.
07:01 You wanna read the labels.
07:03 And in this case,
07:04 we're not talking about the ingredient labels.
07:06 I'm talking about the unit price that you just mentioned.
07:09 The unit price is gonna tell you
07:11 what you're paying in weight,
07:13 because that's a really great way to save yourself money
07:16 and avoid debt, because a lot of times,
07:18 something that might look like a good deal
07:20 really might not be such a great bargain
07:23 when you look at it based on unit price.
07:25 And so you're looking at it and you're seeing,
07:27 oh, this is only 80 something cents, this looks cheaper.
07:30 And so you're thinking, let me get that.
07:32 This other bigger unit though,
07:34 which is, you know, five times the size, of course,
07:37 it's not five times the price though.
07:39 If you bought the equivalent volume, say 30 ounces,
07:44 you'd pay over $4.20 when you're buying
07:46 that little individually, conveniently packaged one.
07:50 You're paying way more for that, almost twice as much.
07:53 So again, shopping by unit cost,
07:56 it's gonna save you money and keep you out of debt.
07:58 Yeah, don't go for the head fix.
07:59 All right, Lynette, there are also some grocery items
08:01 that you want everyone on this death diet
08:03 to pay attention to.
08:04 These are the things we're gonna give up.
08:05 For example, pre-sliced veggies and fruits.
08:07 Now, in my entire career on this show,
08:09 I've never told you to not eat veggies and fruits,
08:12 but this is about pre-sliced ones
08:14 when you're in the death diet.
08:15 What should we do instead?
08:16 You listen, if somebody's just doing the work for you,
08:19 it's a convenience factor
08:20 and you're paying for that convenience.
08:22 So I don't care if they're slicing up your celery
08:24 or your mangoes or whatever else,
08:26 just buy the whole product and slice it at home for yourself
08:29 and then believe me, you're gonna save money.
08:31 And it's gonna be an easy way to save money
08:34 and keep yourself out of debt.
08:36 - An item that everyone's gotten addicted to
08:37 is pre-washed salad, but no more.
08:41 Why pay someone to wash your salad?
08:42 It doesn't take that much time and certainly no money.
08:45 - Exactly, again, it's a labor thing here.
08:48 You're going to pay three times as much
08:51 just to have somebody to wash that salad
08:53 and put it in a nice little package for you.
08:56 The plastic, all of that is costing you money.
08:58 Again, just buy a head of lettuce yourself,
09:00 cut it up, wash it real quick, put it away.
09:02 You won't even notice the difference,
09:03 but you'll notice the difference in pricing
09:05 because you're gonna pay way less.
09:07 - Are you hearing Lynette?
09:08 She's saying literally there's money,
09:10 money in your lettuce, right?
09:12 So stop buying the pre-cut stuff,
09:14 take the cash and buy some something nice.
09:16 All right, and finally, chicken in parts.
09:20 And this surprised me
09:21 'cause I didn't think there'd be a big difference,
09:22 but you don't want us buying cut up chicken thighs,
09:25 breasts or anything else.
09:26 You want us to get the whole baby.
09:28 - That's right.
09:29 Listen, you're gonna save a ton of money,
09:32 again, because it's about unit price.
09:34 Buy the whole chicken as opposed to buying parts
09:37 like wings or breasts or thighs,
09:39 because you're gonna be spending really pennies per pound
09:42 based on the number of meals you can make
09:44 from the having the whole chicken.
09:46 - So we do a little math,
09:47 assuming you buy each of these items weekly,
09:49 making these three small changes, seemingly small changes,
09:53 we would put an extra $600 into your pocket this year alone.
09:58 That's a lot of money, guys.
09:59 Let me bring Nicole back in.
10:00 She says to leave anything over $50 in your online cart
10:03 for at least 24 hours.
10:05 It's like a regular diet.
10:06 You gotta restrain yourself a tiny bit.
10:07 - A little cooling off period, right?
10:09 But in a regular diet, you tell people to move,
10:12 like move it or lose it,
10:13 or in case to actually lose it, you wanna move more.
10:16 But in this case, to lose more of this debt,
10:19 you want to step away and cool down, take a breather.
10:22 If you wanna buy something that's more than $50,
10:25 put it in your cart, go crazy, and then sleep on it.
10:28 See if you actually want it in the morning.
10:30 - Move away from it, don't just move.
10:32 Chances are you probably won't.
10:33 - Roraleigh, how'd the cooling off period work for you?
10:37 - The cooling off period definitely worked for me.
10:40 Honestly, I didn't think that I would be able
10:43 to get through this challenge.
10:46 However, I was able to do it.
10:47 And even now that it's really coming to an end
10:51 and ending now, I've realized that I don't have that urge
10:54 to do those impulse buys.
10:57 And I really am just kind of eating at home
10:59 and making things for myself instead of ordering out
11:03 anytime I have an impulse or I'm like, "Hmm, I'm hungry."
11:06 So it's definitely been working out for me.
11:08 - I love this concept, intermittent diet, but modified.
11:13 'Cause if a debt diet can work for you,
11:14 it can work for your friends and family, spread the wisdom.
11:16 When we come back, it's the millionaire secret
11:18 to trimming your monthly bills
11:20 without having to give up a thing.
11:21 But first, a TikTok that teaches you
11:24 how to put your electricity bill on a diet.
11:27 - All right, we're gonna look at three energy saving tips
11:29 that can lower your monthly electric bill.
11:33 Firstly, switch all your light bulbs to modern LEDs.
11:37 They're six times more efficient
11:38 than your traditional light bulb.
11:41 Next, wash your clothes with cold water.
11:44 It will take strain off your hot water heater.
11:47 Finally, use power strips and turn them off
11:50 when you're not using them.
11:52 - Today at the Superstar Money Summit,
11:54 we're putting you on a 30 day debt diet.
11:57 You heard right, a debt diet.
11:59 But a diet isn't always about deprivation, is it?
12:02 In fact, this next trick is more about putting money
12:05 in your pocket every month without you giving up a thing.
12:07 So Rick, this is something even your millionaire clients do.
12:10 It is to negotiate your bills.
12:12 So what's negotiable and how do you actually do it?
12:15 - Yes, you know, it's really fascinating, Dr. Oz.
12:18 Nearly everything is negotiable.
12:20 All you need is a phone and a little persistence.
12:23 Just set aside an hour of your day
12:25 and call your credit card companies to start.
12:28 If you carry a balance on your credit card,
12:30 tell them you want a lower rate.
12:31 If you pay the fee on an annual basis,
12:33 tell them you want to waive the fee.
12:35 And if they say no, demand to speak to a manager
12:39 and say the same thing to the manager.
12:41 And if the manager says no,
12:42 demand to talk to the next manager
12:44 and keep going up the chain until someone says yes.
12:48 Just tell them that if they don't agree to your terms,
12:50 you're gonna switch your business to a competitor
12:53 unless they do what you ask.
12:54 You can do this with your insurance company too,
12:56 your cable provider.
12:58 Everything's negotiable.
12:59 - So I gotta say, Rick, I trust you.
13:01 You're the expert in this, but I was dubious.
13:03 So we wanted to show everyone exactly how this works
13:06 and to kick the tires.
13:07 So I asked one of our Oz Show correspondents, Tia Brown,
13:10 to tackle her own credit card monthly bill
13:13 and Nicole was a little birdie in her ear.
13:15 - All right, Tia, so today we're gonna negotiate
13:20 your credit card interest rate.
13:22 Negotiation is one of the best financial skills
13:25 you can have.
13:26 Money secret number one, tell them that a friend
13:29 or a family member has a lower rate.
13:31 - Okay, gotcha.
13:31 (phone ringing)
13:35 - Just a moment, I'll connect you to a representative.
13:40 - My name is Jaylen, with Indigo Posure speaking.
13:43 - Shatiqua Brown.
13:45 - Nice to meet you, how can I help you?
13:46 - I'm interested in getting a lower rate.
13:48 My rate is currently 15.49%
13:51 and a friend of mine has a much lower rate.
13:53 - Okay, well let me take a look.
13:55 It's allowing me to lower, it looks like just by one
13:58 percentage for the next 12 months,
14:00 did you want to accept that?
14:01 - All right, money secret number two,
14:02 remind them that you have a ton of other offers
14:05 from different credit card companies
14:06 offering you a lower rate.
14:08 - I actually received a few offers
14:09 from some other credit card companies with lower rates.
14:12 Are you sure there's nothing you can do?
14:14 - I checked and the 14.49% is the lowest
14:17 it will let me do.
14:19 - All right, TM, money secret number three,
14:21 ask them what they're offering new customers.
14:24 - Okay, what rate are you offering new customers?
14:27 - So each person is different,
14:28 it's just based on their history,
14:30 so I mean we rarely have like the same set rates
14:32 for everyone, but I can definitely take a look into it.
14:36 - Money secret number four, state your case.
14:38 Tell them why you're a good customer.
14:40 - Okay, gotcha.
14:41 Well I've been a loyal customer for about 10 years,
14:43 I always pay my bill on time, I always keep a low balance,
14:46 I'd really like to get a lower rate.
14:48 - Yeah, you're doing everything correct,
14:49 you're paying on time.
14:52 There's just a lot of factors that go into the APR.
14:56 - Money secret number five, ask what you want
14:58 or you'll walk away.
14:59 Ask for a manager.
15:00 - Can I speak to a manager?
15:02 - Sure, you may, just a moment.
15:03 - Thank you.
15:03 Hi Melissa, thank you so much for your help.
15:05 - I understand we wanna look and see
15:07 if we can get that interest rate lower for you.
15:09 - Absolutely.
15:10 - Do you mind if I place you in a brief hold
15:12 and see what I can do for you?
15:13 - Absolutely, thank you.
15:17 - It's already been like four minutes.
15:19 Hopefully that's a good sign.
15:20 - I'm not gonna give up.
15:21 - That's my money and I'm fighting for it.
15:22 - No means yes.
15:24 - That's right.
15:25 - So the lowest I could get at two was 12.49,
15:27 that's gonna be for existing balance and new purchases,
15:30 there's no time frame on that.
15:32 - Okay.
15:33 - Would you like to accept that?
15:34 - Yes, I accept that.
15:35 - Okay, fantastic.
15:37 - All right, thank you so much, I appreciate your time.
15:39 Thank you so much, Nicole.
15:40 - You did such a good job, Tia, I'm so proud of you.
15:42 - We did so well.
15:43 - We did so well.
15:45 - Nicole has one last step for our 30-day debt diet
15:48 and she says it's the most important thing of all.
15:51 What is it?
15:52 - I think you have to allow yourself
15:54 those small indulgences so you don't binge later on.
15:57 A debt diet is a lot like a regular diet.
15:59 I like to think of it as an eating plan,
16:02 so a spending plan.
16:03 Let's reframe this, right?
16:05 It's something that you can stick to for the long run.
16:07 This is not a crash diet.
16:08 This is something that we wanna stick to
16:10 so that we are never gonna get back into debt.
16:13 - So buy yourself something once in a while.
16:15 Have your indulgence.
16:16 The same way we have the dark chocolate
16:17 you alluded to earlier that got me hungry.
16:19 - Sorry about that, but 5% of your overall spending plan.
16:23 In the same way as what?
16:24 Is that dark chocolate maybe 5%
16:26 of your overall calorie intake?
16:28 - Yeah, and it's fine.
16:29 And that way you won't have the 35% chocolate cake.
16:31 - In the middle of the night
16:32 'cause you're so hungry and so deprived.
16:34 - Yeah, or the bag you know you can't afford.
16:35 All right, thanks to all my money stars.
16:37 I love you guys.
16:37 I can't wait until the next Money Summit.
16:39 Thank you for watching.
16:40 Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications
16:42 so you never miss out on new videos to live the good life.