His budget may be stretched to the limit, with a house, car, bills and what not. I suppose he could cut back on his expenses somewhat ; move into a smaller house, drive a less fancy car, cut back on cable TV and other amenities but that has to be his decision. Does he have other expenses, perhaps? Like child support or other similar judgments? Is he just coming off hard times and trying to pay down an accumulated pile of debt? My suggestion is that you cut him a little slack until you know all of the facts.