I don't believe the mom and sis would go for the cell phone thing. More likely to get my balls cut off than to convince them of PaYG. Mostly because it isn't split evenly. They pay less than 50 apiece. It's a nice deal for them to have iPhones at that rate.
Damned right it's a nice deal - for them. Can I be blunt here? You've accepted that you are poor, but the consequences of that don't seem to have sunk in yet. Being poor means that YOU CAN NOT AFFORD AN IPHONE. Not even one for yourself, let alone a couple for other people as well. You likewise can't afford a cell phone plan, and don't even need a cell unless it works out cheaper than a land-line. If mom & sis object, remind them where the money is coming from.
Agreed. End of the day, that cell phone plan is in
YOUR NAME, not theirs.
YOU take the hit financially if it doesn't get paid off on time, and it's
only $110 a month for you because your mother and sister have the money to pay that $50 a head every month. What happens when they don't?
Family deserves love and respect even in disagreements, and it goes both ways. You have every right to shut that account down any time you want or need to. This is a need to situation in
so many ways. This is about doing what's best for all of you whether they realize it or not. If they don't like it? Tough toenails. Unlock their iPhones with your carrier, buy them a couple
Airvoice Wireless SIM cards with a cheap
Micro SIM punch off Amazon if needed, and tell them they have X number of days to transfer out their phone numbers before you close the account. If they don't like that option, they can open up new overpriced post-paid wireless accounts in their names instead.
That house arrangement is scary. What happens if you help pay it off then in 10 years stepfather decides he wants half of the total, not half what it was worth when they split? Worse things have happened to members of my family after previously civil breakups.
Sell the flipping thing. I realise that it's not wholly your decision but you can make a strong case and say that you will refuse to pay money into such a precarious arrangement starting from 6 months from now.
Make sure your mother puts her portion somewhere she can't easily touch it - if she is struggling it would be all too tempting to eat away at that much needed capital.
Seconded. When ownership is in question with these sorts of things, always expect to be on the losing end, and never put good money towards bad. Either he needs to sign away his stake before you keep paying long term (which doesn't sound possible), or owner percentage rights get solidified now and it gets sold ASAP.
Beyond that, you definitely need to either get a reliable set of wheels (I'm shocked your Neon made it even
this far) or change your living distance from work by either moving closer to work or finding a closer job.
Not much else to add on the financial end outside of echoing the need to cut any and all frivolous expenditures and scale back on all utilities as much as humanly possible.
Here's some help on the telecommunications end.
Emotionally, be prepared to have to wear the man of the house pants on this situation. Be sincere, be authoritative, be considerate, but make it clear that household budgets have to be brought in line to best reflect the current realities. They aren't the only ones who need help here, you do too. You either need to work together as a single unified front to get your heads above water or you all drown. They're assured destruction without your presence, your presence as a contributer is dependent upon your own financial stability, and your own financial stability is dependent upon living within your means. You can't live within your means so long as you're having to help support their shortfalls while they fail to live within their own. Make it clear you want to help but you're not afraid to walk away and that you absolutely won't destroy your own life just to make theirs a little more comfortable while putting off what is currently an inevitable outcome of failure. Help them understand how truly boned they really are without you helping, and then help them realize how fragile your capacity to help truly is in this situation without some major changes on their end.
Good luck.