I think I'd find it too stressful to learn how to live independently at the same time as starting a new job.

Anyway, I think my mother's biggest problem is loneliness rather than lack of money. She has no real friends, and her only living relatives outside our house are her brother (not on speaking terms with), her nephew (homeless) and her in-laws (who have little to do with us and live miles away).

If you want to learn more about my situation, you can look up the Dysfunctional Families threads on the Making Light blog, where my username is "Codemonkey in NE England" (in reference to my job as a computer programmer).