I would say he did you a big favor. Not only because you say you hear he is in debt (not a very responsible person) but .................................... in my many many years (old lady here) I have found it is NEVER a good idea to date a co-worker.
The old adage was "keep work and pleasure far apart."
And yes, you are probably correct, you just are not ready yet, ie your 'picker' is probably still broke.
I have found over the years, that we attract folks to us by our insides, not our outsides, so I had to fix the insides first and when that started to happen, it really was quite amazing to me, the 'new' folks that I started to become friends with and eventually date.
J M H O
Love and hugs,