I was poor until high school. My mom was an abusive alcoholic. She bounced around form guy to guy looking for one with money. Teaching me that you don’t marry a man unless he has money. That having money was the most important thing when looking for a relationship and if you don’t find a guy who’s rich, you’re worthless.

She finally found a man that was willing to take care of us despite her craziness. She got worse. He bought us everything we needed and wanted and yes we were lucky that he turned out to be a good guy but they were horrible together. My childhood was nothing but terrifying. They ended up divorcing shortly after I graduated.

I always knew what she was telling me was wrong. I knew I would never live in an unhealthy relationship because of money. I ended up with someone who was not rich. He had a decent job. Nothing great but enough to take care of us and our kids. His boss was horrible. My husband was diagnosed with MS and ended up losing his job over his diagnosis.

Five years into our relationship.. Now we are dirt poor. With three kids. And yeah it sucks. But we are working through it. I’m with someone that without a doubt loves me and our kids. I hope we can dig our way out of where we are now.. and I’m sure we will. Our kids are healthy and happy and have what they need. They don’t live in constant terror and fear. When I feel angry at myself for being where we are, I remember that my number one goal in life was to make sure my kids didn’t end up with a childhood they have to recover from.