Money makes the world go 'round.
It gives us the freedom to do what we want, buy what we need, and pursue our dreams.
Even if you're not wealthy, you have the ability to get a better job, earn more, spend and invest the way you see fit, and make your own financial decisions.
At least most of us do. But some of us don't.
Some of us are under the thumb of a financial tyrant, someone who uses money to keep us in place, control our freedoms, and make us feel insecure and useless.
Financial abuse is an all-too-real form of domestic abuse in which one partner takes all of the control of finances, making the other partner completely dependent. It often goes hand-in-hand with emotional abuse and physical abuse.
It is present in 98% of domestic violence cases, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
This financial manipulator can be a man or a woman, but quite often you see this situation in relationships when the man is the main breadwinner and the woman stays at home or makes less money.
Gradually the breadwinning partner gains more and more control over the finances, especially if the other partner isn't comfortable with money or doesn't take interest in how it's managed.
But even the most financially savvy people can fall victim to the financial manipulator who uses intimidation, threats, and passive aggressive behaviors to be the money master.
Some financial abusers are dead beats who sit back and allow their partners to do all of the work while the abusers control the purse strings.
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
Barrie is a 
