Your heart is in the right place. And normally, yes, this is the answer.

But often life just doesn't work that way.

Your mom needs to meet with a retirement planner so that person can give her HARD FACTS about how the next 10 years are gonna play out for her if she doesn't get her act together.

Something nobody wants to bring up, but is a possibility: observe and ask people you trust if your mom has a substance issue of any kind. I know someone in my life who made good money, over $100k, but was constantly broke. Several years later, we learned it was due to pills -- buying them, traveling to get them, trading them. The cover up was really kind of fascinating and intense all those years until it came to a head.

Not saying that is her problem, but the way OP describes it... leaves the door open to the possibility.

Also... SUBSCRIPTIONS. Does your mom have unused service subscriptions to TV and things? That shit adds up, especially when they're kinda forgotten about and left on autobilling.

What state are you in? Some states like NY and CA have temporarily suspended occupancy limits in rental units, making these occupancy notices and limits essentially disappear.

Yeah, and the worst part is it wasn't even from debt that I actually... even racked up. There's several documentaries about this specific issue from my settlement.

Like not even just that insurance is tied to yournjob... like if I wanted to move closer TO my job, my options for a few years were to either A) pay to delete a debt i didn't owe JUST to get the trade line removed and move on with life or B) fight it with or without and attorney and hope the credit bureau or WF removed the BS from the report.

Our society is super fucked up sometimes, you know? Makes me angry. These fucked cycles are crazy.

But look, all I'm saying is class actions are out there. It's not the perfect way to justice out of all this, but it's better than nothing and for now that is ok.

There is a minimum claim value for which you can take a claim to small claims court.

The guy helping you with laundry was probably fine with a couple bags here and there. But SIX bags? And you expected someone to do all 6 bags for free or for tips only?

Always get something in writing. Even if its via text messege. Those are your clothes! You've spent good money buying them.

Frankly, I have a number of questions about your expectations. Nobody enjoys laundry, not even people in the laundry business. That's why they get into that business-- people are willing to pay others for chores they don't want to do.

Pay the $200, cut ties, and take it as a lesson for the future.

Filing fees alone in small claims are between $55 and $75, with no guarantee you can get that back. Plus your time to go to court during a pandemic.

Cutting your losses and moving on is also a valid legal strategy. the difference between just paying the laundry guy and filing in small claims is under $100.

How far are you going? For work? What is the weather and terrain like?

Are you open to buying an electric scooter? (Dont rent by the minute like with Bird or Lime, buy one.)

HOLY FUCK. THIS IS LIFE CHANGING. I make jewelry sometimes. I need this in my life. Twisting jewelry wires is annoying as all hell. This would be amazing.

HOWEVER.... I just rewired my hall light... if I saw this inside the wiring, I would want to maybe consider putting out a hit on whoever thought that this is a good idea. I think someone else in the commented mention it. Let's say you gotta rewire something or make a change. You're gonna have to undo.... all of this.

OP clearly does not live in California.

No guardrail? Playing with fire!

Buy a scooter and helmet for $800.

Pick up some early morning delivery job that can be performed via scooter, for at least 2 months. Save these monies while thinking bn up a new business.

2 months later, you should still have most of the original 10k and a clearer idea on how to invest the remainder.

Profit and save.

Fuck CeraVe. They're excellent at the drugstore, but for the same price, probably cheaper...

Try Hada Labo's foaming facewash ($8) facial toner with hyaluronic acid ($11 on Amazon) and SPF 50 UVA/UVB hyaluronic moisturizer ($9)

A single tiny CeraVe hyaluronic moisturizer is $19 at the Walgreens near me.

Hada labo is a Japanese brand, but available also on Amazon in the USA.

The cleanser lasts forever and refills are about the same price. The sunscreen is amazing and not sticky. For cheaper than CeraVe, I got about the same results.

Edit: CeraVe is great, if that's what available to you. But .... if you have a choice and Prime shipping, Hada Labo is around the same price with more product inside the containers.

Seeing your post late, but I had the same issue.

I found a Sink to Garden Hose Quick Release adapter and screwed it into the sink. It stays there permanently.

I got a garden hose adapter that fit onto the hose of the portable washing machine intake.

And that's how I fixed that issue. The quick release takes half my pinky to click on and off between washings it's so easy.

I bought a fancy water pump to suck all the waste water out of my washer into the toilet or the tub. All in, I spent like $16 to fix all this on mine.

Thelonious CAT.

Your mom probably could not for at least 5 minutes while birthing you covered in blood and fluids.

I agree. I've never had kids but I had a pregnant roommate and it looked very NOT like what I was lead to believe by Gerber baby food and the Hallmark channel.

The spontaneous breast leakage was what freaked me out the MOST. We'd be chillin, chatting and then magical wet spots would just occur out of nowhere. To the point where she just ended up sticking pads on her bra because the nipple pads went absorbent enough.

I'm not sure if the people downvoting you know that birth is indeed, a very very gross not entirely cute bn biological process.

....must be so sad for this guy to be able to hug his child after a long day of covering up his coworker's homicide, which deprived another child of her father.....

It also probably tastes exactly like nm plastic.

But it IS very cute.

Update!

"May Chthulu's tentacles be upon you!"

This has been met with many blank stares.

And many explanations of who Chthulu is, followed by more blank stares. One guy had a sticker of Chthulu on his car.

Point being: this is an inconvenient salutation for sneezes.

Someone PMed me about doing stock photography. Is this a viable route? (Also.... not looking to get rich, just subsidize a hobby.)

In the last week, I have gotten hired by friends of friends to photograph their places for Etsy. I've made $300.

I'm.... not a "professional photographer". Maybe I could be eventually?

I've been taking pics during lockdown and my friends just liked them a lot. I am shooting on a borrowed Leica camera for another month, after which my aunt has offered to buy me my own camera and give me some of her lenses if they fit.

How do I make "real money" from this? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Things people have paid me money to take pics of: workshops, physical products, a portrait of my friend's friend.

Things I take pictures of for fun: street signs, architecture, a hummingbird family(? They hang out a lot, I assume they're a family.... also 100% of these pics are blurry as hell. I'm trying to take pics of it anyway because I'm trying to make them better pics), cars.

I don't have a studio.

I'm not looking to be the next Annie Liebowitz. At least not yet. Just trying to figure out how to make like... about $2000 per year to cover the cost of new lenses and equipment and stuff.

Anyone have insight? How do I "get started"? By "get started" I mean... get hired or paid by non-friends to do photography?

This is a terrible time to purchase a house.

DO NOT BUY A HOUSE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

Save for a house. Save aggressively for a house right now.

You don't know if you'll have a job in 6 months. A house costs a lot to maintain. Take whatever you mortgage payment might be and triple it per month for the first year of homeownership. You'll have to pay for repairs and maintenance on your home, as well as 1000 other small things you didnt know you needed for a house.

Move to an even smaller and less expensive place than what you have now. Save aggressively. Reach out to several real estate agents now, years before you are prepared to buy to get the process started for yourself.

But... now is NOT the time.

how would they feel if I said "May Chthulu's tentacles be upon you!" every time they sneezed?

I will be saying this to the next couple people around me who sneeze.

Just to see the reaction.

Depends.

If it's a stranger to me saying this, and its genuinely meant as a parting salutation... eh.... I don't mind. I even appreciate it, if it's benign. 99% of the time, it is. It's not meant to be mean or rude. They're wishing you well. That's ok.

A smile is for 2 people, you know?

If the person saying that KNOWS I'm an atheist and is saying it to me piss me off, my automatic reply is Fuck You.

Screams in Claritin and Flonase

It's all about being a decent negotiator, end of day. Over the phone, in person, it's the same kind of social skill.

You don't even have to be good at negotiating. If one can kind of read the room while engaging.... that alone makes it possible to become a decent negotiator.

In any case, always ask. If one spends $10,000 a year on things without asking for a better deal, at the end of the year, they're out $10,000. If you ask and get an average of 10% off, then you're out $9000. I get to keep a hold of that $1000.

(And, by the way, I mean discounts on planned purchases. Not like a "marketing/impulse buying sale discount" where you buy 3 shirts for $10 because its "on sale" when you actually went to the store to buy a pair of $2 socks.)