To say it was all of the results of being under-insured and subject to a series of serious illnesses would be a lie. We made a series of bad choices and mistakes that culminated in bankruptcy during the 2008 financial crisis, choices that could have ultimately been avoided.

However, they happened, and probably for the best, as we would never know the extent of the effect if it was not as dismal as it became.

I grew up in a middle-income family in New Jersey. My father worked for the phone company as an engineer and my mother stayed at home to raise the four kids. We were smart with money, for the most part, had everything that we needed, did not spend on extravagant vacations and my parents provided us with more than what they ever had.

Family History with Finances

I always thought that we had money, but during some of the conversations with my mother when I was facing financial hardship she had told me they were always one paycheck away from being broke. I could not believe this to be the case since three of the brothers attended a private university in eastern Pennsylvania that was incredibly expensive.

When my father became ill and we were looking into his finances we discovered that maybe this was not so far off, finding a student loan bill from when I went to school. I had graduated more than twenty years ago and while the amount was now small, my parents had been paying the bill all that time.

Track Your Spending

I did work throughout most of my teens and through college. I paid my way for vacations and traveling to friends’ houses and saved money. When I finally moved out of my house after college I had $5000 saved up in just three months of working. I knew I was pretty good with money, but also did not track my spending.

In some ways I never had to. I always put enough money aside to live and save and had everything I needed. My life was good and I knew that the college degree I had would allow me to make enough money to be happy and able to do the things that I wanted.

That all changed after getting married and my spouse had a miscarriage during our second pregnancy. This is where our world changed and we began the downward spiral. I will go into detail about that story in the writing of this blog, and hopefully, you will find some useful information.