It’s common for spouses to combine finances — but sometimes, even when you keep your money separate, one partner’s bad habits can impact the other’s financial future.

Such is the case for Sarah from Montreal, Quebec, who called into The Ramsey Show two weeks after learning that her husband has a gambling addiction.

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Despite having been together for 11 years, Sarah only recently discovered that her husband has racked up $1.1 million in debt over the past decade. Now, she’s taken over his finances and wants to help him tackle his debts.

“He had like maybe $1,000 left in his bank account and everything was maxed, so he needed help,” said Sarah.

The problem? She has no idea where to start.

Sarah has long wanted to combine her finances with her husband, but he has always pushed back on the idea. On top of dealing with a gambling addiction that he had kept a secret, his debts have also made him fall behind on his taxes.

Sarah’s husband likely wanted to keep his finances separate so that he didn’t drag her down into his mess, but as Sarah explained to hosts George Kamel and Jade Warshaw, her husband’s actions have impacted them both.

For one thing, the Canadian couple had plans to buy a home in Florida when Sarah thought they were doing well financially. Sarah herself has been saving well and thought her husband was doing the same. This gambling news came as a major blow, especially since it caught her off guard.

“I was, like, totally, totally shocked,” Sarah shared on the show.

Now, the one saving grace is that Sarah’s husband earns a high income from his business, which earns an annual revenue of about $1.3 million. And while that’s not all profit, Sarah says her husband earns about $100,000 a month and they pay taxes on those earnings.

However, he owes over $1 million, broken down as follows:

  • $64,000 in back taxes from 2024

  • $550,000 in provisional taxes for the upcoming year (a requirement in Canada for high earners)

  • $438,000 in a mortgage line of credit, or home equity line of credit (HELOC)

  • $125,000 in a personal line of credit

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Sarah said that she and her husband are in couples therapy, while the two also see their own therapists individually. For Sarah, she hopes her therapy will help her cope with what’s happened, while her husband’s therapy will hopefully address his gambling addiction.

Meanwhile, Kamel and Warshaw had advice for Sarah. Kamel told Sarah that she should take away her husband’s remaining credit card and freeze his credit so that he can’t take out another loan and spend more money on gambling.

Warshaw, meanwhile, gave Sarah advice on how to tackle all of her husband’s debt, which starts with paying off the taxes.

“Do the old ones first, and then once you’ve cleared those, then start doing the prep for the next year,” said Warshaw.

Next, Warshaw recommended tackling the personal line of credit.

“Do it in order like the debt snowball — personal loans first, smallest to largest,” said Warshaw.

After that, Warshaw suggested paying off the HELOC. Hopefully, if Sarah’s husband continues to earn a good income and they stick to this plan, the two of them can dig their way out of this financial hole.

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Ever since the Supreme Court took steps to legalize sports betting, there’s been an uptick in that activity, along with people seeking help with gambling addictions, according to a recent study by the University of California San Diego Qualcomm Institute and School of Medicine.

The study’s data found that internet searches for help with gambling addictions rose 23% on a national scale since 2018. Meanwhile, AddictionHelp.com states that two million U.S. adults meet the criteria for a severe gambling addiction, while four to six million have a mild or moderate gambling addiction.

Recent data from Gaming America also found that 10% of men 30 and under show signs of a gambling problem, compared to 3% of the general population.

Part of the increase may be due to the growing popularity and availability of online sportsbooks, which have made it easier for people to bet on sports. But either way, a gambling addiction can be a costly problem to have.

The National Council on Problem Gambling says the annual social cost of problematic gambling is an astounding $14 billion. According to Debt.org, the average man with a gambling addiction has anywhere from $55,000 to $90,000 of debt. Women with gambling addictions, meanwhile, have an average debt of $15,000.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, you can click here to find resources in your state. You don’t want a gambling addiction to wreck your finances, relationships or your life as a whole, so it’s critical that you do what you can to get ahead of it.

Meanwhile, if you’re already in debt due to a gambling problem, it pays to get help dealing with the financial end of things. You may want to consider consulting a financial advisor or a debt relief company for assistance. In some extreme cases, filing for bankruptcy might also be an option.

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.