David, you are being so kind to your handyman and it is painful to see someone suffering from addiction, but from what you say, it does sound a lot like "enabling" which only slows the progress to "hitting bottom" and finding a reason to honestly quit and get help. I enabled my ex for 20 years because I was a "never give up" type, "till death do us part" and all that crap. Divorce and the end of enabling for me only came after several years of being afraid for my life and for what it was doing to my children. If you are going to use the "power of the purse strings", then read over Gary's posts many times. Whatever you decide, you have to stick to it. So far, you have taught him that it doesn't matter how many times you fire him, you will always take him back. Alcoholics can be so crafty/charming and can be very convincing, even tugging at your heartstrings in order to keep their addiction going. BTW, they lie a lot, too.