Heidi Montag Pratt freshly confirmed blowing $10 million on their Hollywood lifestyle: Montag's mother, Darlene Egelhoff, who made a few guest appearances on 'The Hills,' tells PEOPLE she is struggling to make ends meet with her job as a maid. "The work is sporadic and competitive. [It] is not enough to pay the bills."Egelhoff, who co-owned the popular restaurant Timberlines with husband Tim in Montag's hometown of Crested Butte, Colorado, says that the family is barely scraping by after they were forced to close up shop after 21 years in business. "We're a tourist town, so our business department was dependent on the economy. Business started declining. We tried to make the necessary adjustments, but we were just not quite in time.

Egelhoff, who describes her pride in son Sky's decision to help out the family by participating in a school-sponsored free lunch program, says that despite her daughter's fortune, she has only once asked Heidi for money. "The restaurant was struggling, and I was crying on the phone. Heidi very generously wired me a check that day. That kept the restaurant afloat for at least six months. It was so generous and helpful."

Despite the financial difficulties ahead, Egelhoff says that her faith in God and love for her children will help her through. "The most difficult situations we go through in life are opportunities," she says. "That's when we build character and strength – during difficult times."