The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
Mon 21 Jan 2008
Byline: Cassandra Kyle

Divorce, depression, dejection, defeat -- a list of dim possibilities often caused by one of the most frightening four-letter words in the English language: Debt.

And in Canada, personal debt is becoming an out-of-control trend that's threatening to destroy families, says Gail Vaz-Oxlade, host of Slice Network's Till Debt Do Us Part, now shooting its sixth and seventh seasons.

Vaz-Oxlade, a financial writer for more than 20 years, worries about what the real consequences debt will have on people who don't take a serious look at their spending.

"I don't even want to think about it. It's horrible. People who have houses will lose their homes, their relationships will disintegrate because (they) cannot bear under this kind of stress.

"And I think that's the thing that surprises me most about people. Why would you think that you would be able to survive this kind of stress?" she said. "Marriage and relationships are hard enough when everything is right."

While debt is as real as that new designer handbag, many people would rather hide the unpleasant reality of being broke under a pile of high-interest credit cards and buy-now, pay-later shopping excursions.

Financial statistics about a free-spending society are nothing but scary, Vaz-Oxlade explains. There is more personal debt today than in any other time in history. In April, Canada's personal savings rate went into the negative. More than 50 per cent of us are spending more than our gross income. Money is the number one cause of divorce.

Needless spending is about as far away from fixing a personal debt problem as one can get and people risk everything when they spend money they don't have, she said in an interview from her Ontario home. "Life is changing all the time. You never know when your company is going to go bust. Anything could happen and if you've already spent the money that you haven't made yet, how are you going to eat?," she said.

"Then there are all the people who are prepared to put stuff before their relationships. Let's face it: Why would you put your partner at risk by going into debt? Do you not care about them enough to want to take care of them?"

The root of the problem, the Jamaican-born Vaz-Oxlade says is simple: People aren't paying attention to what they're spending and don't understand the implications until it's too late.

To change habits, Vaz-Oxlade suggests paying more than the minimum balance on credit cards and bills, leaving ATM machines alone, especially if they're not from your bank, not buying on credit and not buying period unless you will actually die (food, shelter, medication) without it.

While the complicated world of personal debt seems forever doleful, there is hope, the TV host said.

Vaz-Oxlade, attitude and all, will be bringing her message with her when she speaks at a free seminar in Saskatoon on Jan. 29. "I talk a lot about finding balance, finding balance between what you want to do today and what you want to do tomorrow. The whole gist of this is you can have it all; you just can't have it all at once," she said. "One of my themes is that you have to plan like a pessimist so you can live like an optimist."

Vaz-Oxlade recently launched her own website and blog -- gailvazoxlade.com -- to meet demand from her fans, those in need of financial help and those looking for the answers to what they see as the last great mystery: Money.

"You know people will tell you who they're spreading their legs for, but they won't tell you how much money they make," she laughs.