Grew up poor my whole life. Not to say I had a bad childhood because I didn’t really know we were poor. I always like to say I was family and friend rich but financially poor.

I am a product of the government. Lived in Section 8 housing apartments, not that I knew what that meant. Public elementary, public junior high, public high school and public university. I didn’t know we were poor. Mom worked hard, dad worked off and on with an addiction problem (drugs and low key gambling) but we always could go to the same beaches (California only has public beaches for the most part) as all the other rich kids and dad always took us for Thrifty ice cream on the way home from the beach in the summer.

Dad was an A+ father but a D+ financial provider. Mom was A+ in both categories. I suppose if you’re going to be great at one thing in this world it should be as a parent.

Anyways, parents never owned a home and only now own one because they inherited my grandparents.

I am determined to own my own home in San Diego. I was born in San Diego, raised in San Diego, educated in the Bay Area and I will die and be laid to rest in power in San Diego.

But in the meantime I’m trying to clime a few rungs on this financial ladder for my kids.