I grew up poor. Really poor. My friends in the neighborhood had to live without electricity some times because they got shut off because their parents couldn't pay the bill. I thought we were pretty well off because we could afford a car and we could afford to keep the lights on. I thought of a car (any car) as a big luxury item when I was a kid because so many families around me couldn't afford one. I realize now we were also very poor, just not as poor as some of my peers. I believe because of that experience I have a much different outlook on what is actually needed and what one can live like happily if you get out of a certain mindset.
When I see people begging for "donations" to pay off their 19,000 car loan, I am very put off. He could sell his van and buy an older (but still nice) van and save thousands. Ever single financial blog will tell you the first thing you do to save money is downgrade your car. Of course instead of going without or making sacrifices he needs to ask other people for money. He already has a lot more than most of the kids I grew up with will ever have and yet none of us felt entitled enough to beg. I drove a beat up car that was 13 when I retired it for years when I could technically afford a newer one. Why? I'd rather spend that money on life experiences, weekend trips, and visiting friends and family. When I bought a new(er) car (1 year old with 30,000 miles) I was able to pay cash for it freeing me of having a car payment. It is insane that "car payment" is part of our lexicon, especially for someone claiming to have money problems. You can do a real lot without a car payment.
Look up any research on happiness. That van doesn't make you happy, in fact it does the opposite. What makes us happy is not the items in our life but the life experiences we have. When you are sacrificing life experiences for a van you're doing it wrong. He clearly owns a van he can't afford.
As I said before, nobody needs to spend even close to 10K on a funeral. That's a big luxury item.
I currently have two hard working friends with two children who are struggling to make ends meet and making actual real sacrifices (like Internet). Their kids will never have half of what this guy "needs."
I remember going on a trip where we stayed in a cabin at a campsite because it was cheaper, and we packed a cooler full of food for the duration of the trip so we didn't have to spend money on eating out. This trip was a good time for very cheap. They also have all included bus tours/trips which are cheap, I went on a couple of them as a kid too.
Funny thing is my parents are no longer poor. My mom worked a civil service job so she was able to eventually move up to a better paying job and get a pension at retirement. She is now retired.
I think the mortgage is about reasonable though, that doesn't seem too excessive. Expensive but not overly so.
I do feel sad he is dying at 35 and his family has to live without him. However, his sense of entitlement puts me off completely. I thought this was going to be an interesting article not some self entitled guy begging for money.