There's a difference between 'family helps family' and 'family is entitled to your money.'

A non-refundable life lesson

For good reason, people discourage merging business with pleasure: things never, ever turn out well. The story below is an account of a frustrated cousin. The original poster (OP) gave $5,000 to his cousin a few years ago, stating that his cousin was in dire need of help due to serious financial problems. Years later, though, the cousin's financial circumstances have much improved, but he still won't pay OP back for the $5,000 he so kindly loaned him, and he keeps silent whenever the topic is b…

"Should I just settle and help him pay his debts off/accept that this is what's happening and stay with him? Or try to detach and take steps back and live separately until he can get a grip on his financial situation?"

“I do not want to go into a significant amount of debt for a wedding.”

How the tables have turned

Roommates can be catalysts for personal growth, as differences in habits may cause conflicts that aren't particularly easy to solve. In this case, OP's roommate was an old friend from college who had nowhere to stay, so OP initially welcomed her with open arms. Shortly after moving in, this roommate, who we'll call Karen, began to trash OP's home, berate her, and cause a general series of uncomfortable scenes that made OP realize that she had to kick Karen out. Things got progressively worse, a…

Finding yourself in a sticky situation with a toxic partner and realizing it after it's too late and you're already in love can be daunting. On the one hand, you adore them for all their good qualities and the times they make you feel like a star. On the other hand, you can't see yourself living with someone who is so controlling and at times, cruel, for the rest of your life . This story proves that breaking up with someone like this is inevitable and totally worth it. OP finished things with…

Trust is difficult to build, and easily broken, as anybody who has ever been in a relationship would know to tell you. One woman found out 3 days before her birthday that she owed thousands of dollars in rent to her landlord, who called her up, absolutely furious. She'd also been emailed a breakdown of the full sum, which shook her to her core. She had had a feeling that something was up and had asked her boyfriend multiple times for proof of payments in rent, but he became angry and said, 'Don…