Dear Queenie,
My husband and I have been married for more than 20 years and we have 2 children together, plus 2 each from our previous marriages. We all get along very well and the children are all grown up now and also doing well except for my husband’s daughter.
She never got married, but she has two children from 2 different fathers and neither of the fathers pays her child support. My husband sends her money every month to pay her rent and utility bills and help buy groceries and he tries to hide this from me because he knows I object to it because she has a good job and gets a good salary. Even so, she is always asking us for financial help because she buys herself and her children lots of fancy toys and expensive clothes.
I keep telling my husband that his daughter will never learn how to manage her money better if Daddy keeps paying for things, but he just keeps sending her money.
Queenie, my husband and I would like to retire, but we don’t have enough savings. What do you suggest?—Fed-up stepmother
Dear Stepmother,
As usual, I suggest professional counselling for you and your husband – so he can learn a better way to help his daughter and you can figure out a better way to cope with this situation.
