Brother’s funds request could drive a wedge

Dear Carolyn: My husband’s brother “Patrick” and Patrick’s wife “Dana” run a well-known blog in a very niche industry. Often, they will make comments about how our jobs are “not enhancing our soul” or “fail to contribute to our local economy with originality.” We more or less brushed this off until they sent a familywide email asking for a loan.

When we are in a group, they frequently find ways to avoid paying for things, like getting a ride with other people, asking us to share a hotel room, etc.

My husband is an accountant, so he offered to help them set up a budget. This did not go over well, and they rejected the offer. They went on to say that “people like you can’t begin to understand how to live.”

How should we respond to future comments from them about our jobs and requests for money? Overall, Patrick and Dana are nice people, but I am afraid this finance issue might put a wedge between us all. What should our next step be? – K.

I’m partial to falling off one’s chair, laughing.

“People like you” apparently butt out and pay your own bills, while they, to anyone with a well-developed sense of irony, are a four-legged answer to Christmas. I see no reason to take them seriously on any level, except as family – and that mostly consists of leaving unsaid 99 percent of the retorts that pop into your head.

As for wedges, they’re the ones positioning them and swinging the mallet to drive them in. There is only so much you can do to contain the damage they have in their minds to inflict.

When they hit you up for cash, remain patient, remain good-natured, remain firm on offering fishing lessons vs. fish.

If you can do this without getting mired in negativity, delight in their absurdist pronouncements from the shelter of your own walls. It might not enhance your soul, but, to my understanding, it’s a fine way to live.