Melanie Harper never thought of herself as rich. She was used to living on a low budget because she worked as a nurse in a tiny rural hospital.

The outside world might believe that healthcare professionals in her nation made enough money to live comfortably, but Melanie’s situation was much more nuanced.

She used a large portion of her income to settle the obligations left by her deceased parents. In addition to inheriting their modest two-bedroom home in a quiet neighborhood, she also inherited all of the associated financial obligations.

In their own right, her parents, Michael and Teresa Harper, had been community leaders.

For many years, they operated a small bakery where they served coffee, pastries, and warm bread to both locals and tourists. Despite everyone’s affection for the bakery, it never made enough money to save for retirement, much less pay for major bills.

Her parents accrued large medical expenditures when they became unwell in their later years.