The $60 Washing Machine That Changed Everything I Thought About Being Broke

at age eight. “We can’t not have a washing machine, Dad.”

“I know,” I said.

Hazel joined her siblings, hugging her stuffed rabbit tightly against her chest. Her voice was small and worried. “Are we poor?”

The question hit harder than it should have. I knelt down to her level, trying to find the right words—honest but not scary.

“We’re resourceful,” I finally continue reading …