A dad was left seething when his adult son was going out and having fun while he still owed him £2,000 – but he didn’t know how best to bring it up to him without getting ‘angry’
Money matters can be really tough to bring up, especially when someone close to you has borrowed cash – but one man was struggling to overlook his son’s spending habits while he was due to pay him back £2,000.
The dad admitted that he wasn’t good at talking about the way he felt, but he was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the fact his son had borrowed such a significant amount of money but was showing no effort to return it to him and his mum.
He also admitted that he “hates confrontation”, as he finds himself getting “so angry”, so he was concerned about how the conversation would go if he were to bring it up to his adult son.
Writing to the Dear Deidre column, the distressed dad stressed that he didn’t want to “ruin” the relationship he had with his son over the money, but he was also wondering why he wasn’t addressing that he owed them anything.
To add insult to injury, the 28-year-old “goes away for weekends and buys himself technical equipment”, so he obviously has some money.
“I keep wanting to ask him where my cash is, but in the end, I can’t start the conversation, I fear he doesn’t have the funds saved to pay me back, anyway”, he stressed, asking Deidre how she should broach the topic without it becoming emotionally tumultuous.
Deidre reassured the man that her feelings were reasonable, saying it must be really “frustrating” to watch him “spend money that he owes”, rather than trying to pay back what he owes to his parents.
She also warned that “nothing will change” if he doesn’t bring anything up to him. “Make it clear it’s time to pay back what he owes. Suggest he sets up a payment plan and pays you back in small instalments”, she recommended.
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