Once upon a time I was with a man that I had been friends with for over a year. Things took a terrible downward spiral in my life, namely due to a terrible break-up with an ex who was a cop and hell-bent on making me miserable. I got PTSD, quit my job, the works. So my guy-friend, who I knew always liked me as more than a friend, was my rock. I moved in with him, fell in love, he took care of me, told me not to worry about getting a job, etc. After a month or so, I did get a part-time job in an accounting office, but I only worked two days a week. I had all of my mail forwarded to his PO box, we decided to move to a tropical climate so I spent most of my money on a used Jeep Wrangler. A month before we were ready to move, he left me- moved to Vegas and turned off my cell phone and internet. I was in his apartment, with less than a month left on the lease, with barely 1k to my name and a Jeep Wrangler cloth top as winter was coming in the Midwest. It was a rough couple of years after that.

So ladies and gentlemen, no matter how great someone is and how much you feel secure with them, have a plan for survival without them. Have an emergency fund! Make sure you have access to things like your cell phone plan information and your name is on it, in case you need to get your line separated. Don't allow yourself to be as dependent as I was. I was really depressed, and that didn't help things, but I shouldn't have been this foolish.

Believe it or not, we got back together several years later. We're married now, and he is the love of my life. I understand his reasoning for what he did and truly believe I don't have to worry about that ever happening again. However- I have my own nice car, my own job, my own credit card accounts, my own savings accounts, etc.

It is important to be independent!