Deanna Adkins, 28, filed for bankruptcy in February.
Between taking in her mother-in-law nearly three years ago and having her first child shortly afterward, she said her credit card debt became unmanageable. Her 66-year-old mother-in-law was scammed into homelessness before moving in with Adkins and her husband in Florida, she said, so Adkins bought her clothes, furniture and then things for the new baby. Each month, after paying for rent and her car loans, Adkins said she didn't have any money left over.
"I couldn't keep up with [the credit card payments], so I just let everything go delinquent until I had to deal with it," she said.
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Sandwich generation caregivers like Adkins are out tens of thousands of dollars every year in care costs. Some families spend money directly on care, and other families, like Adkins', lose wages by stepping away from work to care for their loved ones. Other families spend on care and simultaneously cut work hours, compounding their losses.
