The Widlunds Come Clean

The Widlunds are doubtful they can find extra money to pay down their debt—Step 2 of Oprah's Debt Diet—but money coach Glinda Bridgforth says she will prove them wrong.

The search for extra cash begins in Victoria's room, which is filled with mounds of clothes. Glinda and Marnie start counting and discover that Victoria owns 20 pairs of jeans. At about $60 per pair, that's $1,200 spent on pants. Then Glinda uncovers another secret—Victoria has 25 bras, which average $30 each, for a grand total of $750.

In Gracie's overflowing bedroom closet, Glinda and Marnie are stunned to discover that Gracie owns 77 T-shirts! At $20 per shirt, Gracie's collection adds up to $1,540—and Marnie speculates there are another 30 shirts waiting to be washed. "If this family really comes clean, literally, by taking care of the laundry, then perhaps there will be less of an urge to go out and continue buying things," Glinda says.

Going through her daughters' closets, Marnie says she sees how overindulgent she's been with them, but she's been hiding a secret of her own—$2,000 worth of scrapbook supplies. If the Widlunds cut back on these expenses in the future, Glinda calculates the family can save as much as $5,490!

Counting all their possessions proves to be a real eye-opener for the family. "It's just waste, waste, waste, waste, waste!" says Marnie. "This is making it easy to not shop."