Twelve days into 2017 and already we're having financial woes.
After my brother's divorce, he had nowhere to go, so he moved in with us (me and my parents). My parents don't work because both are going for disability, so it's my brother and I paying the bills. My brother wants to move into a bigger place, so we do a rent to own for this trailer. My brother's plan is to pay off the trailer in 5 years, and then get his own place again. Less than a year after we move in, however, he gets back together with a former girlfriend. He starts spending entire weeks at her place, and eventually moves in. He starts complaining about having to help pay our bills, which was the plan all along. His plan. He chose the trailer, his name is on the paperwork (along with mine), etc.
His girlfriend is pregnant, so he's informed us that he can't help with the bills anymore. He's said this thing before - "we want to get our own apartment, so I can't help with the bills" - but nothing ever comes of it. She's been pregnant a couple times before too, but miscarried very early both times.
So we've started discussing what we're cutting. Cable and internet first, of course. I'll have to cut half the phone bills - mine and my mother's will remain for communication. I have unlimited data, so I can use that for internet use - at least at first. If it becomes too much, I'll have to cut down to the minimum amount of data available. I'll have to cut my $10 dropbox payments. I'm hoping I can at least keep Netflix so my parents have something to watch. My dad is talking about dropping his efforts to get disability and go back to work, which sounds like a good idea, but he has COPD, and watching his lips turn blue because he can't breathe just one time was more than enough for me. I'd like to avoid that again.
I'm not too concerned just yet, because they have months before the baby will be born. We have time to save up a bit, if we are very careful. It's tax season and I'll just hold onto that money. Meanwhile, my mother is
freaking out, which is upsetting me. I have a persistent cough and a headache. I'm tired of struggling.
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