Optimal Finance Daily · Thursday, July 16, 2026
The Go Curry Cracker authors shared personal stories of overcoming difficult childhoods marked by single motherhood, poverty, and parental divorce to illustrate that individuals can succeed despite stacked odds. One author accumulated $40,000 in student loan debt, facing high interest rates.
“My mother was 16 years old. High school is a luxury that few single mothers can afford.”
“I remember my teacher calling the class one by one to the front of the room. So she could fill out a survey on parental employment. I barely managed to mutter. Unemployed.”
“I graduated four years later with $40,000 of debt.”
“The second half of my senior year, I used credit cards to buy ramen.”