Season 7
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
Late twenty-somethings Amanda and Sean are largely a victim of external circumstances. They both worked for the same company when it went bankrupt, leaving them both unemployed. At that time, Amanda was three months pregnant with who is now their sixteen month old daughter, Lyric. They were already facing financial difficulties then, which escalated from that time. They have both since managed to find other part-time jobs, Amanda's being freelance which allows her stay at home with Lyric, in-between trying to finish her schooling. She works as their combined schedules allow for one or the other to mind Lyric. In addition, Sean has martial arts and DJ-ing skills, which he under-utilizes as means to make money. Their current combined income is a modest $50,000 annually. They admit they are not faultless as they have also since used spending, especially on Lyric, for feeling like they are not providing her the life that they should. But they also spend $10 here and $10 there on themselves, which adds up over time. Although their debt is not huge at $20,000, it is substantial seeing as to their overall circumstances. And it is negatively affecting their life as a couple. Gail wants to show them they they can't have what they haven't paid for. She gets them to manage what debt they have better by renegotiating interest rates and moving all the debt to those lower interest sources. She wants them to earn more money, especially using Sean's skills which may be more difficult than Gail realizes. And she tries to get them to be on the same page when it comes to what they want from each other emotionally and romantically in their marriage. At the end of it all, Gail does a first for the show.
Chris, who earns $12,000 a year, is a full time student with one more year to obtain his undergraduate degree. He wants to go into dentistry, which will require a few more years of school post-graduation. The issue is that he is a mature student at age thirty-five, never having had a career of any sort as the perpetual student living at home rent-free. But now he is married, his Filipino bride, Yen, who works full-time and earns $35,000 a year. That income will soon diminish as Yen is in the early stage of pregnancy. As is with the Filipino culture, she sets aside a few hundred dollars to send home every month. To help them out, Chris' parents, Bill and Vivian, let them live in their basement rent-free. Bill and Vivian also paid about $10,000 toward the wedding and plane fare to/from the Philippines for the wedding. Bill and Vivian do all the work around the common areas of the house, Chris only helping when asked. Chris' debt, largely from student loans but also from his expensive habit of eating organic, currently sits at $52,000. Gail wants Bill and Vivian not to be Chris and Yen's safety net, being able to ask his parents for help which is how Chris has lived all his life. Conversely, Chris and Yen have to be contributing members to the entire household as long as they are under Bill and Vivian's roof. She wants Chris and Yen to feel the weight of the debt in their lives, which can only be lessened if Chris makes more money. She wants Yen to ask more of Chris, especially as he didn't disclose his financial situation to her before they married. Chris has to evaluate critically future options, including dentistry, especially in light of the debt, his age and the upcoming baby. And she gets them to understand the true costs of living independently.
Early thirty-somethings Karla and Greg are engaged, but they have totally different views of money and debt which could threaten the marriage. Karla does not believe in consumer debt, she spending on items she can afford and on which she pays cash. As such, all her "toys" are paid for and she is consumer debt free. Greg, on the other hand, had racked up a debt of $33,000 before Karla found out about his secret gambling life being addicted to slot machines. He has since moved to poker. Because Karla feels she can't trust Greg concerning money, she at this point refuses to have any joint financial accounts with him until he becomes debt-free (it currently sitting at $23,000) and remains debt-free for some time. As such, their relationship currently is more like a mother chastising a son she doesn't trust than as man and wife. Greg still wants to be able to spend his money as he sees fit, gambling being his entertainment. Despite the money issue being Greg's sole doing, Gail has to get them to: work together as a team in managing what will be their household finances, while they deal with their individual money issues, Greg's which includes his current debt that requires a bigger income to pay off timely than he is currently earning; shift the power balance of their relationship, especially when it comes to potential family issues; find less expensive alternatives to gambling as entertainment they can do together; and rebuild the trust that Karla currently does not feel with Greg. Gail issues one major make it or break it rule right at the beginning which sets the tone of the process and perhaps for Karla and Greg's future.
Heather and Dave have a combined annual income of about $72,000. Having this much money is new to them. Heather just started a new higher paying job as an animal keeper at the zoo where she works. In addition to Dave's primary job as glass handler, he also does freelance web design and is a musician, both which earn some income. But this higher income has also led to a different kind of money problem than when they had little income, as they don't know how to manage their current finances and increased financial responsibilities. They have recently purchased equipment for both Dave's side jobs. But they are enjoying life for the first time in quite a while, and indulging their friends in the process, rather than paying off the debt they accumulated when they had no money. Dave has largely stayed out of dealing with the household (i.e. basement suite) finances, which frustrates him only when they run out of money to do things. All these issues have resulted in a $45,000 debt. On top of it all, they want to take a vacation to Thailand, Heather who is willing to go further into debt to achieve that goal. Gail has to get them to: increase their income over the long term, primarily by Dave being more aggressive with his side businesses, so that they can pay off their debt quicker; plan what the trip to Thailand would cost for what they want to do, and plan how to pay for it without going into further debt; investigate not only what it would take to move from their less than ideal basement suite but move into a place of their own; and get out of their comfort zone to expand their horizons, and not just with the mutually supported thinking that created a large part of their debt problem to begin with.
Melanie and Kevin have a combined income of about $80,000 annually, largely from Kevin's job as a plumber. Melanie, who is an independent cosmetics salesperson, is primarily mom to infant Rozlyn, with a second unplanned child on the way. They went from having no debt when they first got together to currently having $42,000 in consumer debt. They fight over money, most of it over Kevin's spending on cigarettes, and his new expensive and not totally paid off gas-guzzling truck, which he does not need. The stress of the fights is negatively affecting their marriage, Melanie who responds by some therapeutic shopping of her own. Their young marriage is on the verge of collapse because of these issues. Gail has to get Kevin specifically to get rid of his two big money holes, namely the truck, and the smoking, the latter which she tries to impress that the money instead could have been going toward a house down payment. Melanie's individual task is to determine her actual income which she does not know, and how much she will be bringing in in maternity benefits. Gail also has to get them both to: increase their income, especially Kevin as plumbers should be earning upwards of $30,000 more than he currently is; plan for the upcoming baby and how they are going to pay for those costs; and learn how to communicate effectively so that they are working together to overcome their problems. The entire process could be derailed by hot-tempered Kevin, who admits he does not respond well to criticism.
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.