Alfonso Delgado can still remember clearly how excited his family was when they first arrived in Canada from Venezuela five years ago. He had just gotten a much sought-after job transfer, and his wife Carmen and their three-year-old son Aldo were eager to explore their new home city of Toronto. “We arrived on a cold December night in 2005,” says Alfonso, 34. “We had just spent a year in North Carolina and though we liked the United States, we weren’t happy with their melting pot approach to life.”

Alfonso works as a systems analyst with an international financial services company, earning $104,000 a year. So far, he likes it here, and hopes to stay in Canada for at least five to 10 years before his next transfer. He’s well-educated, with an honors BA in computer science and a masters degree in finance from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. But even so, he is quick to acknowledge how little he knows about personal finance. “My ignorance regarding money has caused us a lot of grief,” says Alfonso. “It’s been a nightmare. I now realize how woefully unprepared I was to make some of the financial decisions I have had to make for my family.”

The sad truth is that the Delgados are drowning in debt (we’ve changed their names and some other details to protect privacy). They’re just starting out, but they’re already in the hole by almost $400,000. They have hardly any equity in their new home, they’re leasing an expensive Lexus car, and they have $34,000 owing on high-interest-rate credit cards and a line of credit. “All of our troubles started when we bought our townhouse three years ago,” says Carmen. “We rented a house for a year or two and we were fine. Then we got caught up in the dinner talk about real estate as a great investment and we bought a home before we were really ready. We’re still suffering from that decision today.”

That home, a $400,000 four-bedroom townhouse in Mississauga, Ont., was purchased in 2008. Alfonso’s first big mistake was to lock into a pricey five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.9% to buy it. He then watched in horror as variable mortgage rates plummeted to 2.5% over the following year and a half. “I couldn’t believe what a stupid mistake I had made,” says Alfonso. “When I tried to change the mortgage terms, they wouldn’t let me. I was stuck.”

Then real disaster struck. In March of this year, Carmen’s mother died from breast cancer and in May, Carmen’s sister Maria died suddenly from complications resulting from minor stomach surgery. After helping the family out with medical expenses and other costs, the Delgados were further in debt than they had ever thought possible. “Airfare alone for just myself cost $4,000 for each trip because it was last-minute,” Alfonso says. “We also helped the rest of the family out with medical bills. It broke us.”

As they had no savings, Alfonso had to put all of the unforeseen expenses on his five credit cards, at rates between 12% and 19%. That debt quickly ballooned to $29,000 and Alfonso began to panic. He felt there was no way he could keep making the $2,300 monthly payment on the mortgage for their townhouse without going bankrupt. Eventually, the family decided they couldn’t afford the house any more. They would have to downsize to a cheaper place.