Dear LFTP: the coworker who needs rides, plus the Secular answer
- My daughter says I should charge my coworker a weekly amount for rides or quit taking him. What do you think?
After a joke letter about a cohost who makes goofy noises, a host reads a Dear LFTP letter: a coworker moved to town eighteen months ago and now rides to work with the writer three times a week; the writer's daughter says to charge him a weekly amount or quit taking him. The hosts frame it through Bob Goff: figure out whether the rider is scamming, oblivious, or genuinely needy, and be direct about gas money; Dan's framing is praised as laying it out simply. The Secular answer: you cannot steal what someone gives away, so either set a firmer boundary or stop caring about the hypothetical $20.
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