Man Is Forced To Pay Rent For Both His Parents & Grandparents Even As His Own Costs Are Increasing By 20%
Despite his own economic concerns, he has no choice but to help his family.
MintraTH / Shutterstock It’s a hard time financially for almost everyone. Many people are leaning on and depending on help from family to make it through. This, in turn, puts more stress on the family unit.
One family got a close look at how this works when a son and grandson had to step in to help his parents and grandparents.
A man had no choice other than to pay rent for his parents and grandparents despite dealing with financial concerns of his own.
A mock interview coach and aspiring comedian known on TikTok as @mockdux, shared what he did to help his family.
“Last night, I had to pay my parents’ rent,” he stated. “And, it’s extremely difficult when you realize that my grandparents also [need] help financially. And so I now am getting squeezed by two family members for financial support.”
The man discussed the ways he has personally been affected by the volatile economic climate. “My wife and I have been absorbing inflation costs in our budget for two to three years that have been exorbitant, 20% in three years,” he said. “On other line items like groceries, insurances, maintenance, everything went up 20%.”
He came to a sad realization regarding the situation he was in. “The one item in our budget that did not go up was financial support for our family,” he said. “And … today, we just moved it up.”
Fellow TikTok users had sympathy for the man’s plight.
“There aren’t any easy answers as basic human rights (food, shelter, healthcare) are bleeding us dry,” one person said understandingly. Another person asked if it would be possible for the man’s parents and grandparents to move in together “to reduce costs.”
He explained that this wasn’t possible.
“I don’t think they’d get along, and they’re also about two and a half hours apart by driving time. So, they’d both have to leave their communities that provide social support,” he shared. “So it just doesn’t look feasible to bring them together into one living situation.”
Another person asked about what benefits the parents and grandparents are receiving. A third person inquired about the government programs and benefits the man’s family could take advantage of. “Don’t all those people get SSI? And food stamps?” they asked.
The man explained that his family receives $1,900 a month from SSI (Supplemental Security Income). Meanwhile, their total expenses for necessities like rent, food, and transportation add up to $1,890. That leaves only $10 to work with, which is virtually impossible.
Americans are facing major difficulties paying their bills.
According to a 2023 Household Pulse survey conducted by the Census Bureau, “About 36% of consumers say it has been ‘somewhat’ to ‘very difficult’ for them to pay their usual bills in the last seven days.”
Despite signs that the economy is getting better, like inflation decreasing, Americans are still finding it challenging to pay for necessities. As prices continue to skyrocket while wages do not change, it becomes more and more difficult to simply survive.
As people become desperate for help, they will turn to their family members more frequently. In the past, this might have been a good option. However, now those family members are almost certainly struggling too, like this man who is already paying 20% more for necessities like insurance and groceries.
When family members are experiencing money problems themselves, it becomes difficult to offer help. If the economy keeps heading in such a downward spiral, it will likely not be possible to even seek help from family.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.