My daughter's addiction hit about the time when other young adults were learning how to deal with their own money. So, although she is 22, she is in the learning process. She is always worried about paying her bills (rent, utilities, and paying back $8,000 accrued during the drug years) and yet she will spend $50 on a bottle of tanning lotion and sign up for a 3 month gym membership. She likes the finer things in life and even though she lived in the same clothes for a month and in crack hotels during her addiction, she now feels entitled again to have the things that she wants. I figure that when she has enough mental anguish about paying the bills, she will start to figure out that you pay the bills first and then you buy the things you want with the rest of your money. Your sister will figure it out if left to do it on her own. I tell my daughter once and then I shut up. After all, she is not the only person in the United States that lives beyond her means
It seems to be a unique American mentality. Hugs, Marle