<prompt> Human: My father used to make six figures, so as a family weve always been relatively comfortable. He lost his job about a year and a half ago, after he separated from my mother. This was a separation, not a formal divorce, so there were no child support rules in place, nor any legal proceedings dictating custody or other matters. My father is now living on his own and is unemployed. He is not in regular contact with us. He is not helping my family with our financial situation and refuses to look for a new job, as he has saved enough for his own retirement and has decided he is done working.My mother, on the other hand, has grown accustomed to being married to a husband making six figures a year. As such, she spends a lot of money on things we dont need. I have no idea how much she spends a month, but its a lot. She also refuses to get a job, as she doesnt think we need her to get one. She hasnt worked in over 20 years and she would rather sit around and watch TV and knit than return to the workforce. She figures that we can simply coast on whatever weve got saved up for a few years and then dig into our retirement fund.Heres the issue:My younger brother suffers from autism. He also has a number of health issues, ranging from mild to fairly serious. The result is that everything from feeding him to schooling him is expensive owing to the magnitude of his bodys needs. It is highly unlikely that he will ever be able to live on his own or hold down a job paying significantly higher than minimum wage. As of now, he is too young to legally work, so he is volunteering at a local gym and is basically a janitor, which is something he can handle. However, the costs involved in caring for him are high enough that him ever living on his own is pretty much a no-go given that he does not have the means to hold down a job that produces a high enough income.I just graduated from high school earlier this year and am currently working 2 jobs. I did not go to college. My parents did not save nearly enough money for me to be able to afford college, as tuition costs werent anywhere near as high as they were now when they started planning for having children 20 years ago. I make only slightly above minimum wage and cannot possibly afford my own college education. After taxes, I make around 2,500 a month. My personal expenses and family expenses come to around 1,000 monthly groceries, gas, public transportation, et cetera. I have no idea how much my family has saved, and I also dont know how much my parents are spending out of their savings. The reason why I made this post is that I am becoming seriously worried about my ability to care for both myself and my brother moving forward. I cannot carry my brother and mother on my back indefinitely. My mother has made it clear that I am expected to move out in the near future, and rent where I live is extremely expensive. The moment I move out, rent will eat up all of my monthly income and start to cut into my savings. My work weeks are usually around 75 hours, and I spend another 15 hours a week commuting. Im exhausted and I dont see a way out of this. My parents wont listen to me and I dont see how I can possibly save any money in this situation, let alone enough to make sure my brother remains in good health. Please advise.Assistant: How old is your mom? She needs a reality check. Denial is not sustainable. At a minimum get on the stick to serve dad with divorce and child support.You are holding together a bad situation, you are being a great son and brother. But going on too long will hurt you in the long run, if you cant develop your skills. You need to break away somehow, which will be very difficult when your mom starts to depend on you. Where college is very tough to do, this might be a good time to check out military service. It is an honorable way to create some separation from your family, so you can approach them as an adult once you have established yourself. Besides what you could pick up for skills, you could get GI Bill benefits to go to college. Good luck!Human: Shes 54. I think she might be scared to admit that were slipping financially. She grew up poor and she might not want to accept thats where were headed. I hadnt considered the military, but I should definitely look into it. Combat hasnt ever been something that Ive wanted for myself but I suppose that I should consider it given my situation.In the event I do choose the military, I would still have to figure out our finances. Its pretty clear that I am expected to provide for the family and they might not be happy with me going to the military. Knowing them, theyd see it as a cop-out. Not sure I have other options at this point though.  <response>: Theres more support roles than combat roles in the military. Go talk to a recruiter, you would be shocked at what they have to offer. 