Monday, December 3, 2007

Should We Provide For Our Parents?

Dh and I are paying off debt however, we also bought an investment property this past July....I am sure you all must be sick of hearing about it by now lol.

The investment property we bought was for my parents to live in to up their quality of life. I don't regret it one bit. We do have debt to pay off on the credit card plus we are waiting to hear back regarding our appeal on our investment property taxes. They were too high.

Dh and I are paying the insurance which is $96. a month plus whatever the property taxes will be. They could have moved in with us I suppose but it would be in a different Province and my parents friends and son,my brother, live in their province and they do not speak the language here anyhow (French is the main language here).

My parents (mother and stepfather) are on their senior pensions. They pay the mortgage for our investment property which is a couple of hundred plus cheaper than their house they were in and now rent out. It is much better for them now.

We all see other cultures take care of their elders and even though sometimes for us it can be extra tight, it is so worth it in the long run. Take the Chinese culture for example.

The extra money we pay for them to up their quality of life I consider as tithing. Dh father passed away a year ago unexpectly and we try to also do our best with his mom who is also on a seniors pension. We try to even it out the best we can.

My mother and I were never close while I was growing up, my grandmother brought me up from the time I was 7 when my parents divorced. I strongly feel however that it is my duty and right to help out my parents.

What are your views on this?

2 comments:

kbeeps said...

I think if you can afford it and you both agree on it, then absolutely. I know if my parents or my father-in-law were in a similar situation we'd do all we could to help out.

I think it's important to take care of our elders, if for no other reason than to thank them for bringing us into the world.

Anonymous said...

Family relationships can be complicated.
As long as there is not manipulation being used by your mother on you, and you are offering this help with no expectations, I think it is a very kind and good thing for you to do.
(Just always remember that the needs of your family must be considered the main priority).
You don't want resentment or negative emotions to surface, down the road in the future.
I am totally with you on helping family out.
Just be careful and think things through with a very clear head and non-expectations sort of thought process.
Your a good daughter no matter if you do this or not, remember that :-)