Main Job-
I work about 36 hrs per wk during the week + once a month, I work a full weekend. I work 18 hrs straight two days a week. I am paid for sleeping 8.5 hrs of the shift (although I am woken up for about 1 minute each night but I fall back to sleep quick, she checks in about 10:30-11am somtimes waking me up)
It averages to $12 hr.
I pay $10 month for medical benefits. Pretty great plan actually, not just catastrophic but it is actually usuable
Dental is free because I am Native American. There is no 401k plan though
Sometimes I paint with my husband who is a painting contractor
California closed most of the mental institutions a few years ago. Some of the people left cannot be alone. It's cheaper to hire a staff to be with her every waking moment than it was for her to live in the mental institution. If she has no staff, she gets anxious and ends up having breakdowns or will light the apartment on fire, anything you can think of. She's crazy but it's an easy job. She's good usually with support. It costs taxpayers more to let her be by herself for any length of time because she'll do something criminal or whatever. She goes to a day program during the day.
After she confessed to some of her "incidents" that got her 51/50'd, I started locking my bedroom door. Being so out of it in jail you are eating a bible and throwing it up thinking you are in hell, thats pretty out there. Her description was unbelievable. I suspect she is close to being schizophrenic as those episodes equate to such... but I haven't seen her converse with herself, but it is similarly dangerous imho.
We hide the knives leaving them in the bedroom. I stay awake until midnight usually surfing the web, chopping up veges for my dinner the following night. For some reason, I don't feel comfortable sleeping until I know she is totally asleep. I do exercises for my back or sometimes stay up and watch her Cable Tv in the living room. Brush and floss really well, put on face mask, bleach my teeth, dying my hair, whatever I would otherwise do at home that takes up wasted time.
I could probably even start a crockpot at 10 am then get up at 6:15 and put it in the car. It would be over half cooked by then. I already buy her food sometimes taking her out to eat when I shouldn't (healthy food) so it would likely be fine to use her electricity. She saves money by me sharing my food each night. I started showering at her house too, more than just quickly rinsing off so I also do my hair at night. It stays good looking and bouncy into the following day. I've also sewn my pants, there is so much at home I used to do that I don't do now. I do it at work so when I am home, I can have free time
I take her to program in the morning but otherwise I get a good 6-7 hrs sleep per night. Sometimes more if i am tired, once i was sick and slept the entire time she did, about 9 hrs. She gave me a sinus infection so we were out like a light. I lock my bedroom door now between 11:30-6:30am to get some R&R. Her doxen sleeps with me at the end of the bed. I don't like it but he loves it and putting him in the cage on the floor makes me feel bad. I also have an ebay store. Since she loves to shop, we go to thrift stores once a week. I often find stuff to sell online so after she goes to bed at 9:30 pm, I list my items. I place a small sheet over the half size fridge and stage the items. Sometimes I list on Amazon too, just depends on what it is. It's nice because i have time to test the electronics too if it is a used item I want to list. She's happy because I buy her some stuff too. Often she picks things that are cheap like VHS we can watch (25 cents) but once in a while, something may cost up to $3 and that;s fine.
it still works out to about $150 a month just with what we pick up together during shopping.