Gail Vaz-Oxlade - Career

Career

Vaz-Oxlade began her career after moving to Canada, working as an administrative assistant and later taking a job in marketing. In that role she was asked by a banking client to write a manual for its employees on its Registered Retirement Savings Plan products, which grew into Vaz-Oxlade writing all of the bank's technical materials. Within a number of years, Vaz-Oxlade began freelance writing, ultimately writing 27 columns every month.

Citing burn-out, Vaz-Oxlade quit and moved to Brighton, Ontario with her family and over a two-year period did volunteer work and raised her family. After that time, she was asked by a production company to host Til Debt Do Us Part. In her role on that show, Vaz-Oxlade describes herself as a "super nanny for money". After seven seasons of hosting the program, Vaz-Oxlade agreed to continue with the show if the network, Slice allowed her to do a new show. The network agreed, resulting in the creation of Princess, which focuses on young women rather than couples.

In 2011, Vaz-Oxlade began a campaign advocating for changes in the way lenders assess lending criteria, particularly for credit cards. As part of that effort, Vaz-Oxlade urged Canadian consumers to stop using their credit cards for one week and pay cash only; as well, she urged Canadians to write to their Members of Parliament to urge changes in legislation restricting the use of credit scores in the granting of credit.