Are you familiar with the Ontario Student Assistance Plan (OSAP-Ontario student loans)?
You may not realize that your hubby could qualify for up to about $28,000 /year, and only $10,500 would be repayable (I'm talking $3500 per term x 3 terms if he doesn't take the summers off). You could also be eligible to earn several hundred dollars as a family without being penalized, in addition to any government tax credits of benefits you might be eligible for because OSAP is not considered income by the government for things like CCTB and the OCB that is now included with the CCTB. Also, there is "interest relief" which really means no payments if your income is too low once you graduate, for up to a few years. If you qualify for interest relief for the maximum time period, you can also be eligible for loan reduction of $10,000 or half your loan.
You can approach the $$ thing two ways when it comes to student loans: in some cases such as university (not sure this is what you're hubby would do or not), tuition costs the same if you take 4 credits per 8 months or 6 credits per 8 months--so you can fast-track for less money. Alternately, you can take a part-time courseload so your tuition fees are less and you have more $$ to live on in the interim. The downside to this of course is that you end up with more debt because you take more terms of loans.
Just an idea as many people think government student loans are 100% repayable.
Also, declaring bankruptcy can affect your eligibility for these loans, so if you're considering applying for OSAP, hold off on any bankruptcy proceedings until you figure out whether you can get OSAP while bankrupt.
Consider having hubby volunteer or develop a cheap (and maybe even profitable hobby). My hubby runs a community group and it keeps him busy and engaged.
