Dear Queenie,
My boyfriend and I live together in his house. I pay my own bills and I help pay the mortgage but he owns the house alone. I’m afraid I might lose my job and not be able to help pay the mortgage.
Queenie, shouldn’t I be able to expect him to help me out if I lose my job?— Worried girlfriend
Dear Girlfriend,
If you were married or at least officially engaged to this man, yes, you should be able to expect him to help you out when things get rough. However, because you are not officially married or engaged he apparently feels no obligation and it is not certain that you will ever see any benefit from helping him out with his mortgage other than having a place to live for the moment.
Talk this over with him, if you have not done so already, before you give him any more money. It is possible that he simply considers the money you give him for the mortgage as “rent”.
