Well its sounds as if you really want to take care of Maxie, even if its hard for you and that's commendable!
When I was younger I had lots of animals too. From the time I was about 10 my parents had chickens and turkey's and I had pygmy goats, geese, a duck, cats and dogs and I had to do chores to earn my allowance and the right to keep the animals.
I had to read about them and how to care for my animals. I had to clean them and their respective living areas and fed and water them all. I had to make sure they had enough love and excersize.
I also had to feed and care for the chickens and turkey's. Aside from the ones that laid eggs I hated the chickens because they were mean.
Anyways, do you have a similar thing with your parents? maybe you could ask for chinchilla food with your allowance?