When debt becomes your comfort zone, change feels like the real risk

Meet Tracy, whose metal heart valve ticks audibly throughout our conversation - a constant reminder of the life-threatening surgery that became a turning point in her already challenging financial journey.

Tracy's story offers a rare glimpse into how debt becomes not just a circumstance but an identity. Having become a mother at 17 and growing up with a mother who was always in debt, Tracy's financial struggles began from the moment she had her own place. "That's all I've ever known is debt," she explains, revealing how predatory "backstreet loans" targeted her vulnerability when traditional support systems failed.