DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: Although my wife won’t say anything, she is really and truly pissed off at our daughter for how she spent a cash gift we sent her a couple weeks ago when she was in a tight situation with her new job. Our daughter has just been with a computer repair company for less than a month. She started in a weird place in the pay cycle, so she had to wait almost three weeks to get her first paycheck. My wife felt sorry for her, so she sent her a couple hundred dollars to tide her over. Next thing we know, we see our daughter bought a new iPad less than a week after we sent her the cash. Here we’re worried she won’t be making rent or eating, and she shells out money on a new piece of tech.
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Since my wife won’t say anything about how upset she is, should I? --- NOT THE BEST WAY TO SPEND MONEY
DEAR NOT THE BEST WAY TO SPEND MONEY: Since she works at a computer repair company, it’s possible that the iPad was refurbished, and not very expensive. Still, if she was truly hard-pressed for funds, I agree it’s not the smartest thing to do with some found cash.
Consider it a lesson learned. The money you sent your daughter was a gift, and so she was free to use it as she chose. You might want to let her know you thought she’d find a more practical use for the gift, or even suggest she could have put it aside for a rainy day if her paychecks are now coming in regularly, because sometimes it rains.