I’ve been there and I understand with all of the compassion in my heart the struggle that you are working through.  I grew up very poor with a single mother who put everything into our survival.  I was homeless for a while when I was 17 (in the greater Los Angeles Area).  I slept in my car and showered at the beach or in the school gym locker room.  I finished high school living on my own in a city where kids my age and in similar situations were lost forever.  With no where else to go, and very little hope for a future, I enlisted in the Army and got trained up and learned the blessing of discipline.  After a couple of interesting deployments, my service ended. Shortly after returning to civilian life, I had some major financial issues.  I was too proud to look for or ask for any help and I scraped, clawed and climbed out of that hole and paid every cent of a hospital bill.  In spite of all of that I eventually registered at a state university. With a little bit of assistance from my meager G.I. Bill, a small employer tuition reimbursement and paying cash as I went for the rest, I completed my Bachelors Degree. 

I learned to live a very disciplined life, well below my means so that I could secure my future.  Now I’m a candidate for a Master’s Degree in Finance and expect to complete that accomplishment, by September of 2023.  I will have no student debt. No debt in my life with the exception of a small mortgage which I am overpaying every month. I of all people understand that there can be very difficult obstacles in life to overcome, often obstacles not of our choosing but instead of our circumstances.  I do not judge a person’s status based on money, instead I find friendships, based on character and heart.  But I also know how to navigate that arduous swamp of financial hardship and feel with my experience and education can help others make it to the other side of their financial struggles.