Til Debt Do U$ Part

- Season 7

(2009)

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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, ...

Leanne and Adam are a registered nurse and truck maintenance contractor respectively who earn a combined income of just over $100,000 annually. They have two infants at home, with Leanne's oldest son off to college. Leanne admits to being a shopaholic, buying herself a $700 ring to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary. She belongs to several groups who hold shopping parties for niche items, such as for her scrapbooking. She largely hides the stuff she buys from Adam, and when she does eventually show Adam, feigns that she has had them forever. Leanne also handles...

Maggie and Dwayne have three children. Following Dwayne's passing, Maggie's sister Janice moved from Scotland to Canada specifically to be an alternate caregiver to the children. The two sisters and the three children now live together in a rental house. Maggie and Janice earn $40,000 and $22,000 per annum respectively, Maggie's money which includes widow benefits. Despite the sisters being interdependent on each other for their survival, there is an imbalance in the relationship. Maggie still acts like a teenager, often partying and spending way above her means, ...

Married couple Alexandria and Andrew, who have two children, earn a combined income of $100,000. They love and support each other as witnessed by their undergarments. But their debt is placing a strain on their relationship. Because of the children, they have decided that Andrew, who is a transit operator, will work nights while Alexandria works days. While they have their child minding duties covered, they do not have the marriage covered as they rarely see each other. Andrew manages the household finances. They are equally to blame for their overspending, Andrew's ...

Michelle and Stephen, who both work in the interior design/contracting business, have a combined annual income of about $100,000. They have two children, Michelle who is currently on maternity leave. They are newlyweds, their fantasy medieval wedding - Prince Charming sweeping the beautiful damsel off her feet - the focus of the their lives for the longest time. But their castle came crashing down when Michelle learned of Stephen's $50,000 debt, largely the result of the divorce from his previous wife. He did not disclose that debt prior to the marriage to Michelle. ...

Relative newlyweds Sherry and David have a combined annual income of $103,000 from Sherry's work as a fitness coordinator, and David's business as an independent contractor. Their income is currently diminished as Sherry is on maternity leave. The two, who met while on vacation in Cancun, have different attitudes toward money and debt. Despite being no saint when it comes to spending, Sherry stresses about their money issues all the time, so much so she is thinking about cutting short her mat leave to deal with their debt. David, on the other hand, likes to spend, ...

Jodi and Adrien, who have two children, one who is an infant for which Jodi is currently on maternity leave, earn a combined income of $87,000 annually when Jodi is not on mat leave. Both Jodi and Adrien led carefree single lives before they got together, each using their credit cards like another source of unlimited income. As a couple, they have already gone through a consumer proposal process, but that has not seemed to have curbed their exorbitant spending habits which as a couple is largely on takeout and restaurant meals. Adrien is coming to a stage of ...

Dionne and Shannon earn a combined income of $90,000 annually. They both admit that they like to shop, sometimes individually, sometimes together. They eat out often on average four times a week, $100 a meal. They also like to travel, with a travel plan always on the go. They bought a fixer-upper house with Dionne's parents, they all planning on immediately flipping it. But as Shannon works in the construction business, he decided to work on the house, taking four months off work to do so with much still to do. The two ended up living there in the meantime, they ...

Engaged couple Caroline and Jason, who earn a combined income of $127,000 a year, don't believe they are stupid people, but they know they have made some stupid mistakes to get into $109,000 worth of consumer debt. That debt started to snowball after they bought their house, which they felt they needed to fill with stuff, especially easy for Caroline to do, she the impulse shopper. For David, much of that stuff is musical instruments, as his dream occupation would be as a musician. In addition, some resentment has crept into their relationship as Caroline, who makes ...