My mom used to REALLY not get it, and waste all her money on drugs, drinking, and getting married (5 times to 4 men in 10 years?).
About 15 years ago, she cleaned up and has at least held a job steadily. 7 years ago she married a man from Louisiana. They bought a house 5 years ago, and all seemed well.
Until, StepDad (SD) lost his job. He was working for a lumber yard, and apparently told the owner to F*ck off regarding some delivery he didn't want to do. Well that's ok, he was getting old and it was hard to do that job anyway. He'll just apply for disability. (This was 5 years ago... and it's well known that the process for disability can be very long and drawn out, even for people who truly cannot work anymore. Not the case for SD, I mean I don't doubt that his back was no longer cut out for lifting wood, but the man could have gotten a job)
But still, I thought things would be OK. My mom had a steady job, and their mortgage payment was about $400. They still went out to eat and smoked and had full cable package, so things couldn't be that bad, right?
Would I be here if that were so?
My mom and I don't talk much, but in a recent conversation she revealed to me that they had just stopped paying when SD lost his job. But no worries, because they got approved for a HUD relief program and that is going to kick in, and plus SD's disability is finally going through next month. The biggest kicker was the reason she tried to give for not paying: "Well, our mortgage company was changed 5 times and 4 years and we were just jerked around"
Well, mom, I'm pretty sure when the company changes you just send your check to the new address, but OK, I'm not gonna get into that with you, not a chance.
SD also says he is "helping" my dad out with his rental properties, but in reality my dad pays SD because he feels sorry for them and then later bitches about how little work SD actually gets done.