During happy hour with her friends, Amber mentioned that her child’s father, Dave, had not been spending much time lately with their 5-year-old daughter, Abigail. Although Amber and Dave were never married, they had been able to co-parent Abigail since their relationship ended over two years ago. In fact, Amber and Dave had never been to court and had no formal agreement regarding custody, parenting time, and support.

Carol worked for nearly six years doing administrative work at a local insurance company to pay the bills while her husband Bill studied full-time to get his bachelor’s degree in accounting. Carol also put her own college education on hold with the plan that she would go back to college once Bill graduated, and before the couple started a family. Carol dreamed of becoming a teacher, but she agreed to wait on college to avoid student loan debt. Carol was hopeful that the sacrifices she made now would pay off when it was her turn to pursue a college degree.

Sherri had struggled for nearly three years to keep her marriage with Dave intact, but it was time to throw in the towel. The couple had gone through phases of bitter arguments, attempted reconciliations and counseling, but the marriage was now punctuated by stretches of cold silence.

Neither Sherri nor Dave would say their spouse was a bad person -- they just were incompatible when it came to major decisions that affected them as a couple. They got married in a rush, riding the excitement of courtship. But it became obvious to family and friends, and finally to themselves, that the marriage was a mistake made by two very different people.

Samuel had done a lot of things right to live comfortably in assisted living. He worked nearly 40 years at a steady job, saved something from every paycheck by living a bit below his means, and spent money prudently. Sam was proud of the fact that he and his wife, Shirley, raised three children in a tidy and comfortable home that was full of good times and family memories.

But Sam also could tell that he didn’t have the same grasp of personal finance that Shirley had, a situation that caused him some anxiety since she passed two years ago. Thanks to the sale of their home and frugal nature, the estate had reached the $750,000 mark with investments in mutual funds and an annuity that he didn’t understand fully. Even the basic routine of paying bills by check became something he loathed.