DEAR HARRIETTE: I don’t want to live with my boyfriend yet. We’ve been together for a year, and he’s been asking me over and over again when we can start looking at places together. I’ve never had the chance to live on my own, and I’m very excited about being able to do it in the near future. I don’t want to live with anyone. He feels that if we don’t live together, we aren’t progressing in our relationship. What should I do? -- Ready To Live Alone

DEAR READY TO LIVE ALONE: Here’s where my old-school self steps in. You should not feel pressured by your boyfriend to live together. It is smart for you to live by yourself, establish your own life and get to know who you are as an independent person -- independent of your parents and your boyfriend. That doesn’t mean that you choose to look outside your relationship -- not at all. It means that you fully embody yourself as a young, independent person.

This can be hard for a partner to accept, especially if he is eager to take your relationship to a deeper level. But living together is not the same as getting married. Have you had that conversation? Even then, I recommend waiting and establishing yourself independently first. What you two can do now is talk about the long term. What do you want for your future? What do you imagine your future to be with each other? What goals can you set that will get you there? This is important for both of you, but especially for him right now so that he doesn’t feel you are abandoning him.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am 30 years old, and I’ve never successfully saved any money long-term. I’ve tried time and time again to keep money in my savings account, but I always end up using it for unforeseen expenses. I don’t make a lot of money to start with, but I have friends who have somehow saved a lot of money. I don‘t know what’s wrong with me. How can I successfully build my savings account? -- No Savings

DEAR NO SAVINGS: The good news is that you are realizing this when you are only 30. Sadly, I have talked to many people who are at retirement age who are crying the same song and are worried sick because they see that they may never be able to retire. You have plenty of time to get your finances in order if you start now.

One of the simplest things you can do is to have money deposited from your paycheck into an account before you even get it. Instead of putting it in an easily accessible savings account, choose a different financial instrument like a Roth IRA. Talk to a financial adviser at your bank or credit union and get advice on the best ways to start saving today. For more ideas on savings, go to: americasaves.org/resource-center/insights/54-ways-to-save-money.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am so mad right now. I have been super-careful every day since the coronavirus pandemic started. For more than a year, I didn’t go outside except to go to the grocery store and the doctor. Only in the past few months have I relaxed at all. I still wear a mask even as I have started back at the gym. I take my mask off only when eating or drinking, and I still keep my distance even then. And what do I get for it? COVID-19.

I am so angry and so scared. I have preexisting conditions, which is why I was so cautious. I feel so sick and worried. My doctor says there’s not much I can do but ride it out. I am fully vaccinated and boosted, but so what? I feel like a failure and like maybe I have put loved ones at risk. I’ve told the few people that I have been around. What else can I do? -- Positive

DEAR POSITIVE: COVID-19 has been spiking all over the country and around the world. The omicron variant is said to be drastically more contagious than other variants of this illness. Give yourself a break. It sounds like you have been extremely cautious. I am so sorry that you are ill.

Be sure to get plenty of rest and stay in touch with your doctor. The going wisdom that I have seen thus far is that we should go back to wearing N95 or KN95 masks now to help protect ourselves. A year ago, my doctor told me that we are all going to have to learn how to live with COVID-19. He was too right. Do your best to stop beating yourself up. Like it or not, you and thousands of others are going through the exact same thing right now.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I started a new job, and I am having a bit of difficulty acclimating to working remotely in this new position. For starters, my company is midsized, but it seems huge when I am meeting people via Zoom. It is hard to remember who is who and to build a rapport with people when everything is formal and distant. I was thinking it could be a good idea to organize a virtual cocktail hour after work one day to get to know each other. I don’t want to be presumptuous though, as the “new kid.” How should I handle this? -- Social Organizer

DEAR SOCIAL ORGANIZER: I like your idea. Take it to your boss and inquire as to whether they like it, too -- as a team event. It could play out in different ways. Inviting the whole team that you work with directly could work, or perhaps a subset. If you choose a small group and build from there, you may not even need to involve your boss. The other thing you can do is pick a person once a week to invite for virtual coffee during the day or a virtual drink in the evening. This way you can get to know people one on one.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel so uncomfortable all over again. We have spent what felt like nearly two years homebound because of the COVID-19 pandemic. My family and I followed all of the protocols recommended. We were strict with our children. Now, it seems all for naught. My daughter caught COVID-19, not because she broke any rules, but because she ate lunch with other students at her school. Apparently one of them had COVID but didn’t know it. Almost all of the kids got it -- and they are all vaccinated, some even with the booster shot.

My daughter spent her time off during the holidays sick in bed. Now she is afraid to go anywhere near her friends; they had just begun to “hang out” together a little bit again. I feel so sorry for them. Teenagers, especially, need the camaraderie that comes from being together. Now they are basically back in isolation. I don’t know how to support my daughter through this. She got pretty depressed in 2020 when she felt trapped in her room. And now this resurgence. What can we do? -- COVID-19 Round Two

DEAR COVID-19 ROUND TWO: This is a harrowing time for all of us. This latest variant seems to be whipping through many communities and knocking people down. As the disease is constantly changing, so, too, are the isolation requirements. Be sure to follow the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for quarantine and masking.

The CDC guidelines do not require that anyone stay home indefinitely. If you and your family are vaccinated, you can continue to be out among others, preferably wearing a mask, during this period of accelerated spread of the virus. If you have tested negative and are asymptomatic, you do not have to stay at home, at least for now. For more information, go to: cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am good friends with a girl that my older brother started dating casually. The two of them stopped speaking because she found out that he is seeing other people. She is mad at me for not telling her, but I didn’t think that things were serious enough between them that they were dating exclusively. I feel that she should leave me out of her issues with my brother because she and I have been friends for longer than they were seeing each other. What should I do? -- Brother Vs. Friend

DEAR BROTHER VS. FRIEND: Tell your friend that you stopped getting involved in your brother’s business long ago. The two of you are friends, but you do not accept the responsibility of reporting his behavior to your friend -- or anyone else. You have to be clear about this, or it will come back to bite you again and again.

You can add that you did not know that their relationship had transformed into something more serious than casual dating, but still, make it clear that you cannot be your brother’s warden. Add that you had hoped that your friendship with her was independent of her relationship with him. You love her and appreciate her. You also love your brother. You hope that you can be friends with her independent of him. What you cannot and will not do is be a go-between in their relationship.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)