To make a long story short, basically in a matter of months my mother became attached to a man who had a very bad influence on her. I was a teenager at the time and one day she left and never came back. 

Growing up she was a very protective, loving single mother however I started noticing cracks below the surface. She had many unexpected outbursts. Over little things she immediately became defensive. She would lock herself in her room and cry very loudly for hours. 

She was also very impulsive. Growing up people made her reputation of stealing and credit card fraud very apparent to me. I was 10 years old hearing this. There have been times where the family is on vacation and in the hotel I'm hearing my mom argue her way out of spending thousands of dollars in the span of minutes. 

For a while my family would just assume she was "Bipolar." As I got older and more educated on mental health (she also brought up the diagnosis recently) I came to the conclusion that my mom is borderline. 

She is just so lost...She's geared her entire focus, time, and energy on this specific man. He's introduced her to drugs, crime (petty theft and squatting mainly), and on and off they were institutionalized or imprisoned . for years people would ask about my mom and I truly had no clue...The occasions where I was able to talk to her she would shift her entire goal on this man. 

Now this guy, he isn't that bad. He's just awfully mentally ill (schizophrenic), a drug addict, and just very submissive-Like my mom has an odd amount of control and influence on this individual. He's in jail serving 5 years right now and she still calls him everyday, sends him money, pays for "zoom calls," and even talks to his lawyer. 

Now this had happened before and somehow she managed to pay his bail. 3,000 dollars. In the matter of a month she spiraled out of control and both were later in prison. It was a shit show. Zero regard for me but I did my best to forgive her and even tried forming a "relationship" with her man. He's just so void. He offers nothing to her...I just don't understand. She refuses to get rid of him and has admitted to choosing him over family. 

Now the government gave her an apartment with enough space for the both of us. She hasn't had a job in literal years and lives off disability checks (that are then spent on you know who). I have a stable (although minimum wage) job, a car, and just applied for a credit card. The rent is 100 a month and I have agreed to pay it. Fresh out of jail and she still calls him everyday. I don't know how to understand her or get rid of this man. 

I'm 18 and am unsure whether I should invest my paycheck to my mom..