‘Save your marriage’: Dave Ramsey helped a dad rebuild trust after getting buried in hidden debt. Here’s what Canadians can learn

“I’m trying to figure out if I should file for bankruptcy,” the caller said, but Ramsey and Cruze steered the conversation toward what they saw as the real crisis: a breakdown in trust.

The details of this particular call are from the U.S., but the pattern — debt, secrecy and a marriage under strain — is one Canadian couples know all too well.

Why money problems become marriage problems

Financial stress and relationship stress tend to move in tandem, and Canadian data backs that up. In a survey conducted for Money Mentors, an Alberta-based non-profit credit counselling agency, 1 in 5 Canadians in a relationship (17%) said their financial situation had led them to consider breaking up, separating or divorcing a partner at some point, up from 11% in 2025.

More than half (52%) said they’d experienced anxiety, poor sleep or other personal effects after arguing about money with a partner. Furthermore, 11% admitted to lying to a partner about their financial situation to avoid conflict — a dynamic that echoes what the caller described to Ramsey: His wife didn’t know the full scope of the debt until it had already piled up.

A separate Ipsos poll on behalf of BMO found that nearly one third of respondents (32%) said spending causes conflict in their relationships. Additionally, 36% believe their significant other spends too much.

Financial therapists often note that money arguments are rarely about the dollar figure alone. They’re frequently about trust, mismatched goals or feeling shut out of decisions — which is exactly what Ramsey zeroed in on with the caller.

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The math might not be as bad as it feels

Despite the emotional toll, Ramsey’s read on the numbers was optimistic. With a combined income of US$7,700 (~C$10,857) a month, he argued the debt — while significant — wasn’t impossible to pay off if the couple stayed together and worked as a team. He used a version of his familiar debt snowball strategy: cutting up credit cards, building a shared budget, increasing income where possible and paying off balances one at a time.

In Canada, the math runs through a slightly different system before anyone gets near the word “bankruptcy.” If you’re carrying a similar load of unsecured debt, you would typically start by speaking with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT) rather than going straight to court. A trustee can guide you through options that include budgeting help, a consumer proposal or — if nothing else works — personal bankruptcy under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

A consumer proposal is where a person negotiates to repay a portion of what’s owed on a fixed schedule, without losing assets. They made up about 78% of consumer insolvencies in Canada in the 12-month period ending January 2026, compared with roughly 22% for straight bankruptcies. Canadians filed for insolvency at the fastest pace since 2009 in the first quarter of 2026, with 37,121 consumer insolvency filings, according to the OSB (5) — a reminder that a couple in this situation is far from alone.

Divorce could make the debt harder to solve, not easier

Ramsey and Cruze also pointed out something couples facing debt often overlook: Splitting up doesn’t make debt disappear. If anything, it usually complicates it.

The rules that would apply to divorce in Canada are contingent upon provincial or territorial jurisdiction, which governs property and debt allocation. The federal Divorce Act mainly governs the divorce itself, along with child or spousal support, as well as parenting arrangements. In British Columbia, for example, “family debt” — debt taken on by either spouse during the relationship — is presumed to be split equally under the province’s Family Law Act, regardless of whose name is on the account, unless a court finds an equal split would be significantly unfair.

In practice, that means a joint car loan or credit card debt built up during the marriage likely wouldn’t become “his” or “hers” after a separation in most provinces. Both spouses could be held responsible, and a creditor could still pursue either one for the full balance until it’s paid off, regardless of what a separation agreement says about who’s supposed to cover it. On top of that, separating comes with its own costs — legal fees, the possibility of selling a shared home and the added expense of running two households instead of one.