Meet the Carmichaels. You wouldn't know it just by looking at them, but Craig, Debra and their son, Zachary, are fighters. Knock-down, drag-out, mano-a-mano, chew-hardship-up-and-spit-it-out fighters.

The Carmichaels are proof that real lives and financial lives are indelibly intertwined. And if you personally haven’t had one affect the other, consider yourself lucky.

Over the past dozen years, the Carmichaels have been dealt several blows in the deaths of Craig’s brother, son and mother; the kidnapping of Craig’s daughter and the money spent trying to get her back; plus Craig’s subsequent bankruptcy in his first marriage, as well as Debra’s bankruptcy in her first marriage.

Recovery doesn’t begin to describe their struggle and the ground they’ve covered just to get back to square one. But, of course, square one still means debt and bad credit.

And so the fight goes on – the fight to get completely out of debt, the fight to one day own a home, the fight to build their retirement, the fight to secure Zachary’s future. Their fight coach in this contest of discipline and motivation: Leslie Stichka.

Read the Carmichaels’ blog to learn about their progress.