When couples recite their vows, the promise usually covers sickness, health, richer, poorer, and everything in between. But rarely does anyone picture adding "and your 80-year-old parents' mortgage" to the list. That was the case for Serena from Raleigh, who called into "The Ramsey Show" in an episode titled "My New Husband Won't Help Support My Family."
Serena had been married just six months when she explained her husband's hesitation to merge finances. Together, they owed $137,000 in student loans, with $111,000 of it in her name. Debt wasn't the surprise, though. Before marriage, she had been helping cover half the mortgage for her retired parents, who don't receive Social Security. "Before we got married I used to live with my parents so I paid for half of the mortgage and I pay for other bills still," she told Ramsey.
