We all like to think that if we were the victims of domestic abuse we'd up and leave - but it's not always as easy or straightforward as that. Women stay with abusive partners for all kinds of reasons - they love them, they fear them, they have children with them, they believe they can change them or they simply have no where else to go.

I have a fall-back fund for the quiet months. I am a single working parent and it gets lonely when things are insecure.

We all like to think that if we were the victims of domestic abuse we'd up and leave - but it's not always as easy or straightforward as that. Women stay with abusive partners for all kinds of reasons - they love them, they fear them, they have children with them, they believe they can change them or they simply have no where else to go.

My number one financial priority is security. Not having to worry about how I am going to meet the bills and not owing anybody anything. I keep my outgoings as low as possible and save as much as I can.

I spend hundreds of pounds a year on candles and it is such a waste of money. It is burning cash whatever way you look at it but I love them.

I now consider the money I put into my pension to have been a mistake.

I never got into debt because my parents had drummed into me at a young age: if you can't afford it, you can't have it.