Dear LFTP: spendthrift retired parents and the Secular's answer
- Should my siblings and I keep giving money to our retired parents, who live beyond their means and pay for a storage locker full of junk, or put our collective feet down?
- Is it more generous to keep giving money to financially irresponsible parents, or to confront them and teach them to manage their money?
A host introduces a Dear LFTP listener letter: the writer and four siblings support their retired, fixed-income parents, who keep asking for money while taking short trips, inviting friends to dinner, and paying for a storage locker full of junk — should the siblings keep helping or put their collective feet down? The hosts debate enabling versus generosity, including whether 'schooling' 70-year-olds is loving, then read the Secular's answer: stage an intervention and make the parents live within a budget starting with the storage unit.
More on Boundaries
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Dear LFTP: the mother-in-law moved in
- My mother-in-law moved in seven months ago and it’s been difficult — how can we sort this out?
The last letter comes from a wife whose mother-in-law moved in seven months ago with no boundaries, rising bills, unpaid prescriptions, and open disrespect.
From No. 604 · Rearview Mirror
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Dear LFTP: Ralph calls three or four times a week
- How can I get my retired friend Ralph to call less frequently without being rude?
The letter: 'Ralph,' a longtime best friend, retired and is bored, so he calls three or four times a week 'even when there's nothing new to talk about,' rehashing the same things; subtle hints haven't worked; letting it go to voicemail just earns a callback request.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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Dear LFTP: the senior-living handshake letter, and the close
- How can a senior-living resident politely decline the dining-room manager's handshakes?
Mike reads the second Dear LFTP letter: a senior-living resident whose dining-room manager (Manny) shakes hands at residents' tables, and who dodges with wet or greasy hands — how to decline politely?
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Dear LFTP: the fiance who games until 5AM
- What should the letter-writer do about her fiance's all-night gaming habit?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from a woman engaged five years to Dustin, who games from 10PM to 5AM, skips chores, and gives her no attention; talking has not helped since 'he grew up gaming.'
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers