Real Answers for Life’s Money Challenges
My 72-year-old mother-in-law passed away last month.
She had cancer, and, sadly, it took her very quickly.
The problem is that my in-laws live in Britain, where my husband is from.
His whole family still lives there.
My husband has lived in the U.S. for 27 years.
My one brother-in-law and his wife arranged everything for my father-in-law.
Money is tight for us so we could only arrange for my husband to go.
The ticket cost around $450.
My husband took $300 with him to cover meals and his share of the funeral meal.
While he was there, he took out his dad and then his dad, brother and his family.
The crematorium holds the ashes until the bill is paid.
My husband is a little frustrated at this.
Neither spent a fraction of what my husband spent to get there.
We dont know what to do.
We dont have the money immediately to pay.
We can save, but it will take a couple of months.
In the meantime, my father-in-law awaits my mother-in-laws ashes, and its causing a rift in relationships.
Can we tell them it will take a few months to save?
Or can we tell them we just cant afford it?
We can save, but it will take a couple of months.
Your husband should also mention the costs of travel.
If he and his brothers arent close, they probably dont know that money has been a struggle lately.
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But thats what happens when you live thousands of miles away from family.
Hes looking for solutions for an expense that was relatively unexpected.
Then he could offer to send them each $50 or $100 a month.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Youre no longer paying off your debt, so you should have some extra room in your budget.
Im guessing it’s possible for you to save up that money quickly.
It may also make sense to use a credit card to pay off the $600.
I get why youd hesitate to do so, having just gotten out of debt.
But the death of a parent counts as an emergency.
It sounds like your mother-in-law was extremely reasonable about her final wishes.
She didnt request an elaborate ceremony and burial.
She asked for a simple cremation and for the family to have a meal together.
It sounds like she, too, wanted to bring the family closer after her death.
Paying $600 may seem like a lot when youve just gotten out of debt.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
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