But explaining why you feel the way you do-say, money
was tight growing up, so it's important for you to have a robust safety net-can
help mitigate that.
这句话的the way you do是定语从句还是状语从句?后面这句money was tight growing up是不是从小就很穷的意思?
the way you do=in the way that you feel. 所以这里可以理解为它本身是方式状语从句,但句子中包含了一个定语从句。money was tight growing up= money was tight when you were growing up.因此,你的理解基本是对的,算不上很穷,但钱紧,得过紧日子。