Oprah's Debt Diet Success Stories

The Oprah Winfrey Show | January 01, 2006

Half a million fans tune in each night to 107.5 WGCI, to listen to Victor Blackful, "The Diz," co-host of a popular radio show in Chicago.

Victor and his wife Michelle, a stay at home mom to their two daughters, are on the Debt Diet. "The week before [the first Debt Diet] episode aired," Victor says, "I was shaking my head, talking about, 'Where is our money going? We've got a pretty good living, why does it seem like we're living check to check around here?'"

Since starting the Debt Diet, Victor has been tracking his spending and finding simple ways to cut back. He also carries a notebook around with him everywhere he goes to jot down all of his daily expenses. He estimates that his new awareness alone saves him $500–$600 a month.

At the beginning of each week, Victor shares his money-saving secrets on air. Recently he had success playing the "credit card game."By calling and asking the credit card company to reduce his interest rate, Victor was able to transfer a balance with 30% interest to a 0% card, saving $500 a year.