Taking Care of My Mother-in-Law for 10 Years: She Received $1,000 Every Month but Never Spent a Penny – All Because of an Old Tin Box Under the Bed

I am 43 years old this year and married. My wife comes from a family of three siblings, and she is the youngest. Her family wasn’t well-off. My in-laws were both farmers who toiled in the fields their whole lives. My wife’s eldest brother was also a farmer, but later, the family pooled money to send him to work on a construction site, giving him a stable job and a decent life. The second brother went into business far from home, and whenever he returned, he was adorned with gold and silver, looking like a rich man from an old fairy tale. However, despite this seemingly well-to-do family, none of them were willing to help my wife, the youngest sibling.

My wife did not have a high level of education. She had to drop out after middle school, not because she wasn’t bright—she was an excellent student with a sharp mind—but because her family couldn’t afford to pay for her education. Instead, she had to work in a textile factory to support the household. When we met, my wife was struggling, as her eldest brother and his wife had moved to the city, and her second brother had settled far away with his own family. She was the only one left to take care of everything at home.

After we got married, we didn’t have high material or financial expectations, as both our families were of average means. Our wedding was simple and smooth. After giving birth, my wife became a full-time housewife and rarely visited her hometown.

When my father-in-law passed away, the issue of taking care of my mother-in-law became the most pressing concern. Her health was poor—she was frail, struggled to walk, and often had trouble hearing and speaking. She had no choice but to rely on her children. At first, my wife’s two brothers discussed hiring a caregiver or placing her in a nursing home. However, she refused, insisting she wanted to stay at home where she felt comfortable.

But 10 years ago, she slipped and fell, making it impossible for her to live alone. The family had two choices: either send her to a nursing home or have her live with one of her children.

Both of my wife’s brothers began making excuses. The eldest said he and his wife were too busy with work and barely home, plus they were saving money for their children's weddings. The second brother claimed he lived too far away and worried that traveling by plane or train would be too much for their elderly mother. My mother-in-law’s face turned dark as she realized her sons found her a burden. After a long silence, she finally said, “Maybe I should just go to a nursing home.”

Upon hearing this, the second brother quickly suggested they should choose a high-end nursing home with professional caregivers. Since he earned the most, he volunteered to pay 80% of the cost, leaving the remaining 20% to be split between my wife and the eldest brother. The eldest brother agreed and estimated that a high-end nursing home would cost about $1,000 per month—$500 from the second brother and $250 each from the eldest brother and my wife. This seemed like a reasonable solution, and my wife and I didn’t have much to lose.

But then, out of nowhere, my wife suddenly said:

“Why don’t we have Mom stay with us? I’ll take care of her. Just give me the money you would’ve spent on the nursing home. Instead of handing that money to strangers, you might as well give it to me, and I’ll care for her.”

Both of her brothers were delighted with this idea. Meanwhile, I sat there, helpless, unable to protest as my wife kept signaling for me to stay quiet. And just like that, my mother-in-law moved in with us. On the way to our home, she kept mumbling about how her two ungrateful sons refused to take care of her despite all she had done for them.

My wife, on the other hand, was overjoyed, feeling like she had struck a great deal. She eagerly calculated the money we would receive. From her perspective, our financial situation wasn’t great, and since she had no job, taking care of our mother-in-law alongside our children seemed like an easy way to earn extra money. She reassured me, and eventually, I gave in. After all, who would refuse money?

However, things didn’t go as planned.

According to our agreement, we were supposed to receive $1,000 each month for my mother-in-law’s expenses. But in the very first month, the two brothers only gave us $600. They argued that an elderly woman wouldn’t spend much, estimating her monthly expenses at just $100–$200. No matter how much we argued, the result was always the same. By the second year, they stopped sending money altogether.

We proposed sending our mother-in-law to a nursing home, but she cried and accused us of abandoning her, expressing even greater disappointment in her two sons. Eventually, she demanded they continue paying her monthly allowance, threatening to cause a scene if they refused. Left with no choice, they agreed—but instead of giving the money to us, they deposited it into her personal bank account.

And so, my mother-in-law lived with us for 10 years. Sometimes, she stayed briefly with the eldest brother, but not often. Despite receiving money in her bank account every month, she never once contributed a single penny to help us with expenses. Even when my wife asked, she refused. It may seem unfilial, but we were under a lot of financial pressure.

We did our best to ensure she ate on time and had proper medical care. We recorded every expense and reported it to her sons so they could split the costs. Over the years, we repeatedly asked them to take her in, but they always dodged the responsibility. We had no choice but to endure it.

Caring for an elderly person who couldn’t walk was exhausting, but at least my mother-in-law wasn’t overly demanding. If my own parents were still alive, I honestly don’t know if I could have managed.

Eventually, she passed away peacefully in her sleep. After handling her funeral, my wife’s brothers immediately demanded to know what assets she had left, insisting that everything be divided equally. We were confused since she had never mentioned any savings. While cleaning up her belongings, we found only a bankbook with about $3,000.

Her brothers were furious, insisting that they had been giving her $500 each month for years and that she couldn’t have spent it all. They accused us of stealing the money and even threatened to take us to court.

We were livid and told them that we had never received a dime from her. Whether they had been consistently sending her money was something only they knew. But they refused to believe us, convinced we had hidden the money.

Just as we were about to give up, our son whispered a secret to us:

“Dad, Grandma left a tin box under my bed. She said you could only open it after she was gone. She told me not to tell you until then.”

We immediately retrieved the box and found a bank card inside. On the back was the password. When we checked the balance, we were stunned—it contained over $200,000.

Our son then played a recording from his phone. It was my mother-in-law’s voice:

“After I’m gone, this money is for Julie and Brandon. Save it for my grandson’s wedding. Thank you both for taking care of me all these years. You are good children. I have been saving this money for a long time. Don’t give a single cent to my two sons—keep it safe for my grandson.”

So that was why she had never given us any money. She had been secretly saving it for us all along. Even in her frailty, she had seen through her sons' selfishness and left us with an unexpected gift.

I hope she watches over us from above. We will cherish what she left behind and live up to her kindness.