The share of American families with credit card balances fell from 46 percent in 2007 to 38 percent in 2013. 

Last week we asked you for your escape plan. Many of you wrote in.

About five years ago, Gabriela Aranda applied for a job with the federal Government. And they wanted to hire her. When they ran a background check, there was a problem. She had more than 95 thousand dollars in debt. Her prospective bosses struck a deal with Aranda: Start paying off your debt, you’re hired.

One of the people who helped Aranda with her “financial makeover” was Alex McAdams. He’s a Personal Finance expert from NerdWallet.

McAdams recently led NerdWallet’s “Financial Makeover Contest” in which we helped create a financial plan for real consumers to help them reduce their debt.