My Mother Lives in a Chicken Coop

Hi Scott,
 
I’m in the US but feel like your column and book apply to us over here too, and it’s my favourite tool! The problem is my mom is a serial multi-level marketer. She has lost a lot of money over the last couple decades but keeps truckin’ on, mainly due to social security checks that come from her having been married to my dad for 20 years (they have now been divorced for almost 30). She’s in her 70s and we live in the mountains. She literally lives in a converted chicken coop – she has no running water but does have a composting toilet (and at least the coop has electricity). It’s cold and snowy here. She’s broke and freezing most of the time, kept warm by whiskey and pickleball. Do I give up or build her a house and risk my family’s money? When do you stop trying to help your mother?!
 
Rachel
 
Hi Rachel
 
Happy Mom’s Day!
 
Thank you for being so American. (The average chicken coop in Sydney rents out for $1,800 a week.)
 
Seriously, though, your mum is now 70 years old and is unlikely to change. That chicken has flown the coop. Just make sure she doesn’t get any of your eggs.