A few years ago, I was a single mom in the middle of a divorce.

When my husband moved out, we had no credit cards.

But a few years later, I started getting offers from retailers.

My husband told me he was looking to sell my furniture.

“The furniture you’re selling will be worth about $500,000,” he said.

“How much is that going to cost me?”

I thought he was kidding.

That was when I started receiving phone calls from credit card companies.

“We need to have a full-time security guard at the home,” they’d say.

“Do you have any kids?

Are there any kids at home?”

I didn’t understand why they were interested.

Then I realized they were actually banking on me buying their furniture.

I’d already been approached by companies that wanted me to buy their furniture and, because I was financially independent, it made no sense to have them as an insurance policy. I didn