Season 1
13 episodes
22 min. per episode
Where to watch
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Couples confront financial chaos with tough-love guidance, risking everything to save their relationships while learning hard truths about money.
Episodes
Bill and Tasia are sinking deeper into debt every month and they just can't figure out why. They agreed that Tasia would stay at home with their two small children. So the couple is living on Bill's part-time income while he tries to get his own business off the ground. To friends and family, they appear to be a couple perfectly in control. But Bill's health and their relationship are crumbling under the stress.
Wendy and Dan have been married less than a year and have a 6 month-old daughter. They also have significant debt, loans from family that have ruined relationships, and a baby who needs special formula that costs $200 a week. Dan is working all the time to make ends meet, and Wendy, a dance instructor, is contributing a little cash by teaching. But their tiny income, disgruntled creditors and their inability to meet their bills could be the curtain call on their relationship.
Rob is a physician who feels entitled to the nice things in life because he works hard and earns a good annual income, in the range of $100,000 to $125,000. However, his excessive spending has put their family in total debt of about $320,000. His wife of twenty-five years Yvonne owns a scrap-booking store, which sometimes will go through slow periods when she will not take an income. She initially allowed him his excesses because she felt she could do nothing about them. Finally fed up only a few months ago, she inserted herself into the household financial management, which has not seemed to help, largely because of Rob not wanting anyone to question what he feels he and their family deserve. She has vowed to dissolve their marriage if their financial situation keeps on going downward, as she feels she needs more consistency and order in her life. Gail believes they need to organize their lives, largely by decluttering their house and their finances. She needs Rob to get over the issue that he has to maintain an image, while she needs Yvonne to treat the store as a business and not a hobby. And she wants to see if they have the same life goals, which may determine whether they stay together as a couple or not, which, if they do stay together, means working together as a team.
Mark brings in more than $100 thousand dollars a year. His wife Nicola, a teaching assistant, earns one quarter of that. She has Mark on an allowance of $100 a week for his gas and spending money and Mark is fed up. They also have 3 kids who play sports 5 nights each week, forcing them to eat fast food on the run. With absolutely no savings, if Mark loses his job this family of five would be living on less than they pay for sports every month. Can this couple make the sacrifices needed to make the save?
Married Roxanne and Shawn have different views of money and credit. Having a zero balance or less in savings scares Roxanne, whereas Shawn believes why pay for something now if you can pay for it later. As such, Roxanne has begun not to be totally honest with Shawn about money, i.e. she hides money from him. Their money problems began when they bought their house - which happened a year earlier than they anticipated - a step they saw as working toward their goal of starting a family. But all those hidden costs of home ownership without curbing their other spending, such as frequent meals out, have threatened that goal of children in the near future. Gail wants them to plan what their life will be like with a baby, which means not only researching costs, but living on what will be their reduced income due to maternity leave. Gail gives them an even more realistic taste of what that life will be like. Gail makes them look more clearly at the entire notion of "buy now, pay later" plans, which means for their life now finding money to pay for their latest "pay later" purchase. And she wants them to set priorities for their spending whenever they do have any fun money with which to splurge.
Money can't buy you love. But keeping love alive without money can be pretty tough. In fact, ninety percent of marriage breakups are due to money problems. And to get advice on how to manage money usually costs money! Til Debt Do Us Part, is a series that offers tough-love solutions to those willing to face their financial troubles head on. In each episode we meet a couple in crisis. Some are on the verge of bankruptcy, hounded by creditors or facing eviction. Others are just getting by, but in the midst of a personal meltdown or relationship breakdown because of money issues. With the sensitivity of a therapist and the toughness of a CFO, our host, renowned financial author and columnist, Gail Vaz-Oxlade reveals what she's found in a couple's finances - and then she'll dig a little deeper. She asks some tough questions and then they'll be forced to face reality. Where will it end if they continue on this rocky road? To get things back on track, Gail takes control of their finances for one month. She devises a strict budget and enforces some dramatic changes. A two-car family may become a one-car; or no-car family. The new hair salon may become the corner barbershop and goodbye fancy lattes - hello thermos. All credit cards and debit cards are taken away and their only discretionary cash is a weekly allowance. Gail makes regular house calls to deliver the week's allowance and assigns a new challenge for the couple to make them confront bad money habits and to help get their relationship back on track. At the end of the month, we find out how well they've done - how much did they save, what did they learn about money, themselves and each other? What is the new forecast for their finances and relationship? Gail can reward them with cash based on how well they did on their challenges. In addition, she always surprises them with a small but thoughtful gift, certain to generate hugs and the occasional tear. Til Debt Do Us Part is a dramatic and fun series that shows how bad it can get and how to get out from under.