P.S. Literary Agency - Business By The Book

Gail Vaz-Oxlade gets hundreds of letters every month from people who can't figure out how to get their sister off their couch, their mother to stop hitting them up for money, or their mates to recognize that saving is part of having a solid financial foundation. The letters have a common theme: Gail, how do I get through to them?

Money Talks is Gail's answer to that toughest-and most common-problem that sits at the heart of money and relationships: how to tell your mate, your father, your best friend or your grandmother it's time for a change. Whether it's sisters fighting over the decision for Mom and Dad to sell the family home and downsize, life partners arguing over whose shopping is really messing with the budget, or parents wondering when their adult child will ever leave home, the "money" gets blamed for what is actually an inability to figure out the real problem and deal with it objectively-and that's where Gail steps in.

With over seventy-five different scenarios drawn from years of working with real Canadians, Gail helps readers see their own situations through stories that reflect what they're experiencing. Then she gives readers the language to negotiate effectively, showing them that for each problem there are steps they can take to find a solution.

Gail has long believed that so many money issues have more to do with behaviour than with the money itself. People can be delusional, selfish, inconsistent, fearful, lazy, bullying and entitled, and those traits are reflected in how they deal with money. Relationships seldom disintegrate just because people are 'bad with money'. But how each person responds to the other-and to the real issues-can make or break a relationship.

Have a bully in your life? Wish your brother would grow the hell up and stop counting on you to save his butt? Want to tell your BFF that dreaming is only the first step in making a better life? Gail will show you how.

Gail bets that there are many people you will recognize as you read Money Talks-and one of them just might be yourself.

The average debt hanging around the necks of Canadian graduates is $27,000. So when they don their caps and gowns and look forward to the future, what they are actually looking at is decades of payments. Yet only 35 percent of eligible kids receive the Canada Education Savings Grant-up to $7,200 that the government wants to GIVE parents as a reward for saving for school. So why don't more parents use RESPs?

• They don't understand how they work
• They say they can't come up with the money
• They don't know about the grant - the free money
• They aren't convinced their kids will need their help
• The language and rules just seem too complicated

Saving for School will explain the ins and outs in Gail's trademark clear, straightforward style. It takes parents and future students through the steps of putting money into a plan and taking it out in the most tax-effective way. The book makes following the rules and regulations simple and shows you how to set your plan up to work for YOU (as opposed to making it easy on your financial institution).

Beyond RESPs, Gail offers a full plan for minimizing your student debt and guides you through how much student loan you should take on, along with offering general tips and strategies for saving and for following a budget at school. With Gail by your side, there's no excuse not to start Saving for School.

Covering every topic under the financial sun-from TFSAs to taxes, borrowing to breaking bad habits, relationships to RRSPs-Gail tells readers that many of the rules they have been following might actually be working against their best interests. Some of her advice is, as she says, common sense (Rule #17: Needs Must Come Before Wants), some of it is surprising (Rule #222: Don't Borrow to Contribute to an RRSP), and some is even counterintuitive coming from Gail (Rule #261: Take Pleasure from Your Money). All of the rules are delivered in digestible pieces that each give the reader a clear sense of what works and what doesn't.

For money-phobes, this book will be a kick in the pants; for money-minders, it will ease the worry that there might be a financial stone they've left unturned; for everyone else, Gail's rules provide what it takes to build a strong financial foundation that will last a lifetime.

#1 on the Winnipeg Free Press paperback non-fiction bestseller list.

Online Bestseller at Chapters Indigo (the largest book retailer in Canada).

This book will help each reader come to terms with why she deals with her money as she does. It helps her establish a solid financial foundation on which to build as she moves through her life. Gail walks her through the major milestones- partnering, raising a family and retiring-making sure she is empowered to make her own decisions, if she's in a relationship or not. It also shows the reader how to cope when stuff hits the fan, without adding financial stress to her burdens. For the woman who finds herself the sole breadwinner in a family, dealing with aging parents or coping with divorce or widowhood, Gail shows her how to keep her financial life on track.

Whether they need Gail's voice to encourage them to reach for new financial goals, or to kick their credit-card-happy butts back into line, women will turn to It's Your Money in good times and in bad.

#5 on the National Post Business Books bestseller list.

Online Bestseller at Chapters Indigo (the largest book retailer in Canada).

#1 on the National Post Business Books bestseller list.

Online Bestseller at Chapters Indigo (the largest book retailer in Canada).

Debt-Free Forever helps readers take back responsibility and control over their money. Gail's Rules are simple: you can't spend money you don't have, you must save something and if you're in debt, you must get the albatross off your back. That said, she knows that executing them can be hard. That's why Debt-Free Forever will serve as a roadmap to getting out of debt, with carefully detailed plans, and Gail's unfailing support to help readers get to the right destination.

#1 selling book at Costco Canada.

#1 non-fiction title on BookNet (tracking 75% of all Canadian book sales).

#1 on the National Post Business Books bestseller list.

#1 on The Toronto Star Special Interest bestseller list.

#2 on the Chapters Indigo paperback non-fiction list.

#4 bestselling Canadian title for the year 2010.

Online Bestseller at Chapters Indigo (the largest book retailer in Canada).

"Vaz-Oxlade has tied together all the advice she has given over eight seasons of Til Debt Do Us Part in her latest book-Debt-Free Forever . . . She writes the way she talks, so the book is entertaining and easy to read. Many of the tips are useful even for those who aren't in debt." --Windsor Star