Woman Uses $10,000 From Debt Solutions Contest to Get Back on Track

Cheree Miller has a cautionary tale for anyone in debt -- and for anyone without an emergency fund.

Miller, 52, lives in London, Ark., (population 925) with her live-in, college-attending son, Nick, and is the caregiver to her 47-year-old sister, Tina, who has Down syndrome. Until last December, Miller, right, was also taking care of her 83-year-old mother, Millie, who passed away from complications due to Alzheimer's disease. She works about 19 miles away, in Russellville, managing a two-doctor veterinary practice.

And last year, Miller was buried in debt -- $30,674.60 of it, to be exact.