A Classic Dilema

Dear Short Answers: My parents won’t support me to major in music. They don’t think I could get a well-paid job in it. They prefer that I major in economics instead and I’m not interested in that. What do you think? Upset Dear Upset: You are going to have to work this out with your [...]

It Will Only Get Worse

Dear Short Answers: My daughter graduates from kindergarten next week.  I am happy to celebrate the moment but the school she attends is having a full-blown “graduation” with cap & gown, diplomas, speeches — it’s crazy.  And they are selling tickets to the event for $100 EACH!!!!!  I don’t want to scar my daughter for [...]

Variable Costs

Dear Short Answers: What do you do about a friend who never picks up a check. And I mean never! Friend of Cheap Dear FOC: Assume this as the price of your relationship.  Then decide if you want to go out with this friend, or not. Like Unlike

This Is Called Enabling

Dear Short Answers: I have a child who is a college senior and can’t get his financial act together. He works part time and spends every cent. Up until a couple years ago, I took care of transferring his money into savings and that worked until I told him he needed to take care of [...]

Why Buy the Cow When the Milk’s So Cheap?

Dear Short Answers: My girlfriend wants to get married.  The trouble is that we really need the alimony she gets from her ex. How do I make her understand that? The BF Dear BF: We are not prudish but it strikes us as nothing short of offensive of you to be living off another guy’s [...]

Older and Wiser

Dear Short Answers: A good friend, who is not a professional singer but has a very nice voice, agreed to sing at my birthday party last week. I told her how happy I was and that she should consider this a sufficient birthday present and I asked her not to get me anything else. Well, [...]

When to Hold It, When to Fold It

Dear Short Answers: I’m getting married soon. I have saved a great deal more money than my intended and I want to keep my savings separate, at least for awhile.  But I think it will hurt my new husband’s feelings. What do you think? Wife to Be Dear WTB: This sounds like the subject for [...]

Independance for All

Dear Short Answers: About a year ago, I found out that my husband was having an affair. When I confronted him he admitted it. He was ashamed, humilitated and said it would stop. I believe that he ended the affair but I still couldn’t get over it and forgive him. We agreed to stay married [...]

Fraud, Plain and Simple

Dear Short Answers: For Christmas, I gave my niece a new computer because she is going off to college next year and her mother told me that she desperately needed one. I just found out that she returned the computer for cash and bought clothes instead. I never would have spent that much money on [...]

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Dear Short Answers: What do you do if you think a friend is shoplifting? All of a sudden, she has a new watch, some new jewelry, new clothes. She always complained in the past about not having enough money for things like this. Do I mention it to her and try to get her to [...]

keep looking »