OSHAWA -- Living off of credit is a thing of the past for one Oshawa couple, who recently took control of their finances with the help of Slice TV's Til Debt Do Us Part.
"It's been an amazing experience," Amanda Lampi said of the reality show, which helps couples pay down their debt.
Ms. Lampi and her fiance, Sean Crites, applied to the show in 2006, just days after the moving company they both worked for -- and had invested heavily in -- went bankrupt.
"It was basically the worst possible situation," Mr. Crites said, recalling being days away from bankruptcy. "We were watching the show one day and just thought, that's us. And we applied just for fun."
Nearly two years later, they were contacted by Slice to participate in the show. Although their situation had improved, they were still dealing with credit card debt they had racked up during leaner times. The couple had also had a baby, which stretched them even more financially, and jumped at the chance for a little help.
"A lot of the things they suggested I just never would have thought to do on my own," Ms. Lampi said. "Our first challenge was to lower the interest rates on our credit cards and I just called and asked and they did it. It was so easy."
One big adjustment was the loss of the couple's big-screen TV, which Mr. Crites especially laments.
"They took my TV away," he moaned, motioning toward an empty TV stand in the couple's spacious living room. "It's because I financed it. They took it away to punish me."
The couple was asked to hold an event to raise money to pay off the television. They decided together to add a charitable aspect as well, donating part of the proceeds from their Boogie With Your Baby dance, held on Aug. 31 at Groove Lounge, to the Grandview Children's Centre.
"We just wanted to make it more meaningful," Ms. Lampi said. "And the people from Grandview were so nice and really helped out a lot."
The couple has one week left in filming, which lasts a month. One thing they will definitely miss at the end is the crew.
"The crew is awesome; we get along with them really well," Mr. Crites said. "At least once a day they tell us we should have our own show because they laugh at us so much."
One of the things they're planning to keep around are the mason jars introduced by the show's host, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, to help the couple stay on budget.
One jar is labelled food and the other entertainment, with a binder beside them to track each weekly expenditure and make sure they don't exceed their budget. Ms. Vaz-Oxlade makes the couples put cash in the jars so it's easier to keep on budget.
"The cash budget is easy and it works," Ms. Lampi said. "The mason jars are definitely staying."
Til Debt Do Us Part airs Fridays on Slice. The Episode featuring Mr. Crites and Ms. Lampi will air next season.
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