Mental Hemorrhoids

Just because I live in a first world country, a few relatives back in the Philippines think I'm an endless pit of money. It's not that they're greedy, but sometimes they do forget that making a living in a first world country means my cost of living is higher as well. They have this idea that I have a lot of money to spare. I know that they don't ask out of greediness, and they probably think that it couldn't hurt to just ask. Hey, the worst response I can have is to tell them no, right?

But still, I do feel very bad sometimes when I can't meet their needs and wants. I and my family do have our own needs and wants to take care of in our lives and we don't always have the extra money to take care of theirs. Sometimes I even feel guilty about using our extra money to reward ourselves with a little family enjoyment simply because I wasn't able to give my relatives back home what they want.

I'm lucky compared to some of my friends whose relatives shamelessly try to take advantage of them just because they earn in dollars or euros. My relatives don't really ask me for everything. I'd be happy to give it to them though, if I could afford it. But I can't and I can only do so much. And unless you're in the same boat, you have no idea how sucky that feeling is.