DEAR ABBY: I just got a phone call from my father. He hadn't called in more than three months, so I was a little surprised to hear from him. The first words out of his mouth were, "Can I borrow $250 to get my car fixed? You don't even have to get me a Father's Day present."
Abby, my dad is not poor. Now he is mad at me for saying no. He says I'm ungrateful, and that I owe it to him for all the years he paid child support to my mom.
I don't have the money to spare. I just spent a lot to have my own car fixed, and I'm saving for a new one. Was I wrong not to give him the loan? Should I have done it to keep the peace? -- SECOND THOUGHTS IN OGDEN, UTAH
DEAR SECOND THOUGHTS: It depends on your relationship with your father. Obviously, you are not particularly close or there wouldn't have been a three-month gap between conversations. And since "the first words out of his mouth" were to ask for money, your dad's diplomatic skills could use some sharpening.
I don't think you were wrong to refuse. The worst reason in the world to make a loan is to "keep the peace."
P.S. Your father paid child support because he was required by law to do it. You do not owe him money in return.