Is your brother depressed?
I do not know (maybe), but depression is not a stranger to me either. Once I had dysthymia (a chronic form of depression), so I know what does it feel like.
He is an adult (I assume)
Yes. He is 27 years old.
I think you can only do your best to be supportive and caring.
I am trying my best, but no matter what I say to him, he is making his own situation more and more difficult. Yesterday we talked in person, and he told me that he bought a new smartphone (Huawei P40 Lite) for 62 000 HUF (approximately $189.95 USD). This is bad, because he already have a lot of debt, and this amount is approximately his monthly income.
To be honest, I even understand his financial rage at some level. The government does not care about us. The government intentionally keep us under the local minimum wage. But making so much debt is not the solution. Sooner or later he will have to face the consequences, and he will have to pay off his debts.
But I do not know how he is going to pay off a debt, which is (maybe more than) 10 times bigger than his own monthly income. He cannot even tell how much debt he has, and it seems like that he does not care about it either.
At least I am happy that he agreed that I can spend the Christmas with him. And the stranger family he currently lives with seems to be kind and loving. He lives with them for a little bit more than 1 year. Before that he lived with gypsies, who hit him, and stole his money, after he lived with them for years.
So there are many aspects for my brother that I am worried about.
Thank you for your supportive message.
I give you some !PIZZA and some !LUV.
Have a nice day and have a weekend.
All the best. Greetings from Hungary.
It sounds like there are many legitimate things to worry about. It is good that your brother is staying in a better place at least.
I don't know whether Hungary has programs to help people with out of control debt. In Canada, there is non-profit debt counselling, which are organizations who help by a) determining if bankruptcy is necessary, b) if not, they negotiate with creditors and work out a viable payment plan which is usually less than the amount owed and at a lower interest rate, and c) they give ongoing budget advice if desired.
Regardless of whether there is an agency that can help, he may have to declare bankruptcy. I know nothing about Hungarian bankruptcy law or even whether bankruptcy is an option there.
I used to think it was a shameful thing to go bankrupt, but life is difficult, things happen, and that is why bankruptcy exists as an option in many countries.
In Canada, bankruptcy makes life financially challenging (because your credit is shot to hell) for 7 years. Your brother is still young enough that this will not ruin his life.
(I should add a caveat that this is not financial advice, of course.)
I think most people know very little about the bankruptcy process in their country. I did not know the Canadian process, but a good friend of mine had some problems a few years ago, which is when I found out all about it. They let her keep some of her assets, like her inexpensive vehicle and her retirement savings plan.
Anyhow, it is great that you will be with your brother at Christmas, and, in my experience, most problems have at least one solution although it is not always easy and I fully realize that I am very privileged to live in a country like Canada. It is not perfect, but there are many positives and I try to be grateful.
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