Said It Here

Why does supporting family financially feel so overwhelming?

Carrying heavy financial responsibility for family members while juggling everyday living expenses, car and loan debt, and future investments creates constant anxiety and physical exhaustion. This unrelenting stress leaves people working crazy hours and worrying about sick relatives without knowing if they are making the right decisions, ultimately making them feel like they are drowning.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Studying more about investments
  2. 2
    Keeping things as they currently are
  3. 3
    Seeking guidance from an investment planner or personal financial advisor
  4. 4
    pausing or stopping financial remittances to family abroad
  5. 5
    negotiating hardship rates or settlements with creditors and collection agencies
  6. 6
    reducing living expenses such as housing or trading down an expensive car
  7. 7
    utilizing community resources like food banks to lower grocery costs

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“I owe money on my car and a personal loan. I have to pay housing, electricity, car insurance and all my normal living expenses. I also send money to my mother in the Dominican Republic because she needs help with her house, and I have sick family members back home that I worry about.”source ↗

“I work crazy hours, study when I can, pay what I can, and somehow I still feel like I’m drowning.”source ↗

“The stress is getting to a point where it scares me. My head hurts constantly, I barely rest, and sometimes my thoughts get very dark.”source ↗

No_Hold9102 · r/personalfinance · 91 upvotes

“The amount of money and the amount of responsibility is making me very anxious, I am trying my best to made decisions based on facts, but I dont know if I am making the right financial decisions.”source ↗

Frosty_Background_84 · r/personalfinance · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/personalfinanceburnoutdebt managementfinancial anxietypersonal finance

People with this problem also raised