DEAR ABBY: I care a lot about what friends, family -- even the general public -- do with their money. Specifically, I promote the benefits of owning a home, but I suspect my efforts to educate them may need a more loving approach. I just don't want people I care about to throw their money away to their landlords. Do I need to be more loving and supportive vs. educating? -- COMMUNITY HELPER IN MICHIGAN
DEAR HELPER: People usually have good reasons for renting instead of buying. If you keep repeating your advice and it's falling on deaf ears, it's fair to conclude your message isn't being appreciated. A saying widely attributed to Albert Einstein is, "Insanity is continuing to repeat an action over and over again but expecting different results." You can volunteer to serve as an adviser, but only if these individuals want to make a change and ask for your help.