Reveal
Tell the full story.
Start with the history, not only today's crisis.
The 9 R’s of Salvage Math
See the whole history, not just the latest crisis.
A practical method for remembering what happened, looking for evidence of change, and deciding what help is reasonable now.
The framework
Nine steps. One clearer picture.
The major decision comes later on purpose. First reconstruct the story, then test the evidence and trend, then choose what to do next.
Recognize
See who else has been paying.
Make the effects on everyone else visible.
Review
Rebuild the sequence.
List rescues, promises, money, housing, treatment, crises, and what followed.
Require Evidence
Separate promises from proof.
Record what is actually different, including both positive and negative signs.
Read the Trend
Look at the direction.
After major rescues, did things improve, stay about the same, or get worse?
Render Reality
Make the pattern visible.
Put the history into timelines, tables, and side-by-side comparisons.
Resolve
Choose what you are willing to do next.
Define the help, boundary, or exit and what must happen on the other side too.
Respond
Follow the plan you made.
Watch what happens and keep the conditions from moving when pressure rises.
Reclaim
Build a life beyond the next crisis.
Your life matters whether the person you love changes or not.
The decision is yours
Help. Boundary. Exit.
Salvage Math does not assume the right answer is always rescue or always withdrawal. It makes the tradeoffs clearer.
Help
Consider a bounded investment when evidence and reciprocal effort support it.
Boundary
Keep an appropriate relationship while limiting or ending the forms of rescue that no longer work.
Exit
Protect yourself and others when further investment is no longer reasonable.
The Golden Rule
You cannot control whether they change. You can control what you continue to sacrifice.