The very word can make your skin crawl. Debt keeps many of us tied down, behind in the money game.

Of course, debt isn't all bad. After all, mortgages allow millions to own their own homes. But more and more Americans are carrying more and more debt, and much of it is unsecured debt: quick, easy, and shockingly expensive debt like high-rate credit card charges. We'll meet two people whose debt seemed to be getting the better of them — and learn about two very different ways they are handling it.