She met and married my step dad right away. He was just a nice, southern gentleman, musician, with no money. She briefly enjoyed sleeping all day and lounging all night with him while I was a young teenager.

The music business dried up, so they bought into a jewelry store. That was the end of their good marriage. They struggled through the store for ten years until they got put out of business due to the economy and partly their bad business practices.

They didn't fund their retirement. That's when my dad bought her the necklace, which she wore every day, never took off, a very lovely designer piece.

When they closed the store, my dad got a Microsoft certification, but never got a job. My mom went to work for major jewelry stores and made good money. Still, no saving per se.