Robert B. - Paying Off Debt After Divorce

Robert B. Client Profile Graphic

The divorce rate in Canada has been steadily increasing since 2000. According to an article by Statista, there were approximately 1.88 million divorcees in 2000. In 2019, the number increased to 2.68 million. To put that in perspective, roughly 38% of Canadian marriages result in divorce.

So, it’s not a surprise that Robert found himself in that same situation. This led to another situation: paying off debt after divorce. “My wife and I were only married for 18 months,” the Winnipeg resident says. “During that time, she racked up the bills and didn’t pay them off. I was ‘Mr. Wallet’ to her, but love was blind. I was being used and didn’t want to face that reality.”

Feeling the long-term effects…

On top of all those bills, Robert also put a $12,000 down payment on a house. When the marriage collapsed, he lost that, too. So much calamity over such a short time took its toll.

“I was hospitalized for three weeks after our divorce,” Robert says. ‘My weight was down to 100 pounds. I was physically and emotionally in terrible condition. I tried so hard to keep the marriage alive but changed my perspective while I was sitting alone in that hospital room.”

Robert decided right then he was going to pay off his debts, but reality got in the way once again. He was only making the minimum payments on his credit cards, and the interest kept piling up. He simply didn’t make enough money at his job as a residential care worker.

“I was broke,” he says. “I used to go to the missions in Winnipeg where they offer people free meals.”

“I literally didn’t have enough money to eat. It was an awful time during my life.”-Consolidated Credit Client Robert #creditcarddebt Click To Tweet

Robert struggled with paying off debt after divorce…

He lived with a close friend who was also going through a divorce. This made it that much harder for Robert as he relived his own nightmare divorce.

That scenario lasted more than 20 years, because Robert didn’t know where to turn for help paying off debt after divorce. He eventually left his friend’s house and became caretaker of a building where he began living.

Fast-forward to 2008…

But soon, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. “I started seeing TV ads and ads in the local paper for Consolidated Credit,” Robert recalls.

“I suddenly realized that there was a company willing to help me organize my bills in a professional manner and pay them off.” - Consolidated Credit Client Robert #creditcarddebt Click To Tweet

Consolidated Credit has a team of trained credit counsellors who are experts in helping Canadians pay off debt. Credit counsellors provide free debt evaluations to help consumers understand their options for getting out of debt. If someone can’t set out of debt on their own, the credit counsellor may be able to help them enroll a debt management program.  The program lowers and can even eliminate interest charges on debt, allowing someone to get out of debt faster than they could on their own.

“I was at the end of my wits,” he says. “I called Consolidated Credit and they helped me get my life back and my dreams back. They are kind and genuine people. They taught me to better organize my money and how to live without credit cards.”

Robert learned his lesson and after five years on the program, he officially became debt-free.