I have a friend who defines pulling oneself by the bootstraps: ran away from home in impoverished Texas, lived in homeless sheleters and on the streets until sh

I have a friend who defines pulling oneself by the bootstraps: ran away from home in impoverished Texas, lived in homeless sheleters and on the streets until she could be and borrow her way into a lower middle class existence. She doesn't celebrate Xmas, or any of the social holidays, because they remind her of the home and family she can't interact with any more; every time she has tried visiting home, her relatives and friends try to soak her for all she's worth. They don't want to present to the world - they are just crave the momentary thrill of spending money on frivolous stuff, that they rarely see otherwise, and consequently value out of all proportion.