Til Debt Do U$ Part - 5 ª Season

Early twenty-somethings Michelle and Zack are three month newlyweds, with a modest combined annual income of $64,000. Working in retail, Zack decided to downgrade his job from management to sales - cutting his salary in half - so that he could go back to school. Their consumption did not decrease with these changes in their lives. Michelle feels the burden of their $21,000 debt more as Zack doesn't seem overly concerned about their finances, doesn't check or pay credit card bills, and continually spends more on the big ticket items, often without even consulting her. However, Michelle is not totally blameless as she is unaware of her exorbitant spending which goes out in smaller dribs and drabs. Gail needs them to earn more money on a consistent basis so that they can balance their budget. In creative ways, she makes them talk about things in their life they should have talked about before they got married but didn't, including what their future will look like.

As the household money manager, Tony admits that he has made a lot of mistakes in managing his, his wife Trish and their three children's lives. Much of their money has gone toward his lifelong obsession with low rider cars, he having stopped counting how many cars he's owned in his life when he hit number eighty-five. His parents bailed them out financially once paying off their then $36,000 consumer debt, which required them to re-mortgage their house, on the promise that Tony and Trish would change their ways. But things did not change, their consumer debt having spiraled out of control to a total of $78,000 including what they owe Tony's parents. However, Trish is also not totally blameless. She has not been assertive enough in their relationship to tell Tony to stop with the cars. She has the attitude that Tony is and should be the major breadwinner. While he works sixty hour weeks leaving him little time or energy to do anything else besides play with his cars, she seems to have settled for a low paying job. They moved into a townhouse two years ago, which was supposed to solve their emotional problems. It has only exacerbated them as Trish hates the run down place, which needs many repairs. These issues in combination lead to Trish using spending on herself as therapy, this spending which is much higher than either she or Tony believes it is. Their debt has also led to not being able to do things for their kids, and has broken their relationship with Tony's parents. To get them to a healthier place in their lives beyond them stopping the out of control spending, Gail has some individual challenges for them. Trish has to step up to the income plate and earn more money, and learn how to be more assertive so that she can be an equal in their relationship. Tony has to learn how to manage their money better by lowering their current credit interest rates, and to assess and actually accomplish some repairs in the townhouse. But their most difficult challenge may be the one they have to do together: fix their relationship with Tony's parents by owning up to their mistakes since the bail-out and being more open about what they are doing to address the financial problem.

Favel and Twain were broken emotionally and financially before they met, those problems largely from mistakes from previous relationships. Favel has two adolescent children from a past relationship, where the father was not in their lives. As such, Favel had to manage on her own, with no outside support. She contemplated giving the children up for them to have a better life than what she could provide. Twain divorced three years ago from his first wife. To get out of the bad situation, he, as part of the divorce settlement, decided to assume the debt they accrued as a couple. Favel and Twain met on the job - she a transit operator, he a transit supervisor - and are now married with a newborn (with Favel currently on maternity leave). They live in Favel's cramped apartment, although they dream of one day owning a house. Twain would also like to adopt Favel's two children. Despite the marriage having solved many of their emotional needs, it has not solved their financial problems - $37,000 in combined debt - which they have decided to keep as "his" and "hers" so as not to bring their past baggage into their marriage. They believe they are not spending frivolously, although Gail does show them that they are spending far above their means in cash - to where none of the three can say - with little in terms of material possessions to show for it. Gail wants them first and foremost to address their credit issue, as having a healthy credit rating is the only way they can achieve their longer term dream of home ownership. She also wants them to work as a couple and not individuals in dealing with their finances, which also includes teaching their children how to manage an allowance. But she also wants them to inject some husband and wife time into their lives, which will require Favel to get over the apprehension she has of leaving the kids with sitters.

Jacqueline and Grant met online as fans of Queen, and have now been married for six years with an infant child and another on the way. Jacqueline is also the queen of coupon shopping, she justifying spending on stuff because it's a good deal, not realizing that most of it is stuff she probably would not need. But it becomes less of a good deal when it is causing debt - their consumer debt currently at $53,000 - on which they have to pay interest. She believed she was managing their debt, but in reality was paying off their debt with more debt while she racked up more purchases. Grant's spending is on the bigger ticket items of vacations, he not caring if a vacation causes them to go into debt. While Jacqueline stresses about Grant's lackadaisical attitude about paying bills on time, Grant is stressed about their debt level, but doesn't have the wherewithal to do anything about it. Their financial problems are in part a cause of their crumbling house, which is in need of many repairs, but which is the lowest item on their priority list. Gail shows them that they have to place more of a priority on their house, their primary asset, which means making repairs and organizing all the stuff that Jacqueline has purchased. She gets them to place their vacations in their proper light as a luxury and not a need, vacations which they can only take if they have the money. And she needs them to start communicating instead of fighting or ignoring their issues.

Beth and Steve have the traditional perception that the man should be the major household breadwinner, which does not match the reality of their relationship. As such, they both "keep score" of who pays for what. Resentment has crept into the marriage because of it as Beth has taken an extra job to pay off their $23,000 debt which she sees more as Steve's (largely his student loan). Beth always questions Steve about money which makes him feel emasculated, like she doesn't trust him, which he feels she should. Steve, who spends much of his "non-working" time performing stand-up, wants to be supportive about money issues but doesn't know how, as he didn't have those life skills of knowing how to manage a household before living with Beth. Beyond their spending, Gail wants them to manage their money better, including planning for imminent inevitabilities - namely both their aged cars needing to be replaced - and for their want to have a baby in the next couple of years. But Gail needs them most to work together toward the common goal of managing their collective money, and not look at it as his money or her money especially in paying off "their" debt.