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Danielle Liss knew she was headed for a financial crisis. The Nevada-based lawyer had watched her credit card debt climb to $37,000, and she'd recently borrowed $45,000 from a relative. For the time being, she was keeping her head above water, but the date by which she needed to start paying off her six-figure student loans was less than a year away.

"I knew there was no way I could continue to manage my credit card payments and make my loan payments when the forbearance ended," Liss told WalletPop. She knew she had to act while there was still time. She considered bankruptcy, but since most of her debts would still be in place (student loans aren't discharged, and a court order wouldn't erase the family tie that bound her to paying back the $45,000), she had to find another way out.