You do have a lot going on.

My mother has a history of suggesting help and then pulling back making you feel like you've been left in the lurch. Twenty five years ago I stopped engaging in that sort of thing with her. It eventually felt like baiting to me- she'd offer, pull back, and then rail at me for acting so entitled it just wasn't worth it to get involved with her that way. In my mother's case it wasn't always money, but asking anything of her was just asking for misery. It's her time, money, whatever to do with as she pleases, and if she does nothing, then she has no say over how things proceed.

I'd personally ditch cable in a minute. Probably a lot of other things too in order to save money. You can always get it back later. It might cost some, but you may like being without it too.

I've been reading a bit from The Minimalists lately and it's interesting. He went through a period where he reduced his cost of living by systematically getting rid of things, if only for a short period of time to see how it actually affected him. He even got rid of his cell phone and internet for a couple of months, even though he did most of his work online. He said he was surprised at how easily he could adapt. He ultimately got rid of his TV and decided he didn't miss it. In fact, he discovered he was a lot more productive and had a lot more time once he got rid of cable and his TV.

Ugh, I really feel for you. You're balancing a lot right now.