Bank of mom, dad and sister: family members turn to each other in a crisis

Madeleine Knight* dreads winter. Not for herself, but for her 57-year-old brother, who lives with Parkinson's disease and dementia in a house with a prepaid meter for their energy. Last year, he and his wife were afraid to turn on the heating for more than an hour at a time.

"They spent the winter huddled in bathrobes. How can they afford the cost of living this year?" says Knight.

On a pension of £10,000 a year, she gives them about £100 a month to help them cope, even though they are constantly struggling.

"I can't stand to see them suffer, especially since my brother probably doesn't have much longer to His wife shouldn't have to worry like that - I often wonder if she'll crack under the pressure and hurt herself and him.

"I wouldn't blame them for their lives - they have nothing to look forward to and no hope. I cry every day thinking about how dark and terrible their lives are.

Knight isn't the only one worried about her family. As the cost of living crisis deepens and energy bills rise, grandparents, parents, siblings are turning to financial assistance.

Observer readers told their stories.

Charlotte Cole* helps her grand- daughter, who is in her 20s, and is raising her younger brother while working on a zero-hour contract. Cole buys groceries every few weeks to make sure they have enough food.

"We have, on several occasions, had to transfer food. money quickly because there was none at all and they needed food, or electricity, or both,” she says.

“We have huge worries about the future. We've tried really hard this year to help them get through it, and now we're all facing a huge spike in energy and food inflation, and we don't see how we can helping enough this winter. /p>Parents: Loan as parents' costs skyrocket over the next year.

Their home's energy bills badly insulated are expected to rise significantly, and their mortgage payments will rise by around £300 when they come out of a fixed deal next April, in It's a backdrop of rising interest rates.

After rising energy costs, Beach estimates the couple will be paying an extra £600 a month.

"We are lucky to have what we have, and I know others are not so lucky," he says.

"People in our position shouldn't be difficult, but fight I That's exactly what I expect from us over the next year.

"I can't imagine how families with children and single or low-income households are doing right now. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for those who aren't as lucky as us. . Debt charity StepChange warns this could lead to a strained relationship if you are unable to repay it. Almost a fifth of people who come to the charity with debt problems owe money to family, he says. well" with him when he had to take out a loan of £2,500 from his brother.

When he had to spend up to £200 a week on petrol for his job as an IT contractor, and his mortgage increased from £220 to £800 a month, Miller and his wife found themselves in serious trouble and had to borrow from their family. "It just changed the dynamic of the relationship in my eyes," he says.

One ​​of his wife's sisters then got a personal loan in his name of £25,000, that the couple will bear fruit over the next five years.

"Without being able to borrow that money, I don't know what would have happened. We would have lost the house. At one point, we were going to sell the house and move into rented accommodation.

"But my wife's sister helped us with a bank loan, and I'm at comfortable with that because it's not just his money.

"We've set up direct debit and we're not even talking about it."< /p>The dangers

While many family members will want to help their siblings and children, they have been warned that they should not lend when they might need silver...