Why does it seem that no matter how hard I work, it is never enough?

I have been busting my ass for the last few years, working multiple jobs in order to pay off some medical bills–and recently, I managed to get it all paid down enough to be able to actually quit a couple of those jobs–two part time jobs, one at a hotel and another at a restaurant. For a short while, it was nice to only work about sixty hours a week at just my “main” job instead of a hundred at all three of those jobs.

I am currently supporting a severely autistic adult daughter, along with my oldest daughter, who helps care for her while I work. I also recently had a sister move in with me, who can’t get a job because she has nearly smoked herself to death, and now needs to be on oxygen about half the day in order for her to manage her COPD.

My “main” job pays decently for this area and has a pretty good benefit package. But it just seems like I am constantly drowning in bills. And no matter how hard I try to carefully budget, it is never enough. My electric bill was over $500 last time because of my sister’s constant use of a space heater, along with her oxygen concentrator. The water bill was also outrageous, and for some reason, her car insurance is $280 per month for just liability! And of course, there is her smoking habit. She is going to die with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of Mountain Dew in the other.

Add to this the fact that everything is just so expensive right now.

I would not be able to work at all if it were not for my oldest daughter. Even with funding from the Medicaid Waiver program in my state, it would be impossible to pay for her to go to an adult daycare. But neither she nor my sister really do much to help around the house, so when I finally get home or have time off on the weekends, I have to do the majority of the housework too. I didn’t mind as much before my sister moved in on top of me–my oldest daughter deserves a break after watching her sister all day, after all.

My sister pretty much lays on her ass all the time, she is rude at times to the girls. If she was not my sister, I would kick her out. I can’t wait till she gets her disability, and we can move her out.

I kind of regret quitting the restaurant job now. I see no alternative other than taking another side job so I can make enough money to keep up. But I’m not a spring chicken anymore–it’s getting harder and harder to do this. But all I can do is just suck it up and do what has to be done.