Annie’s Mailbox: Avoid toxic, gossiping neighbor

Dear Annie: A person I know gossips nonstop. She can tell you the latest about everyone in the neighborhood. She also badmouths people behind their backs. She uses the guise of caring to find out whatever she can so she can spread more gossip. She is manipulative and deceitful and uses people to get what she wants, including favors and free rides. Worse, she presents herself as deeply religious.

Am I wrong to want as little as possible to do with this woman? – Don’t Know

Dear Don’t Know: You do know. This woman sounds toxic. She doesn’t deserve an audience. Avoiding her won’t make her stop gossiping about you or badmouthing you behind your back. But at least you won’t have to listen to the malicious things she says about others, which can color how you perceive them.

Dear Annie: I am writing about the letter from “Not the Company’s Bank,” the wife whose husband was not being reimbursed for his business expenses in a timely fashion. I am happy to suggest an easy solution.

Hubby should go to the boss or accounting department and ask for a company credit card to be used solely for his business expenses. Instead of needing reimbursement, each month’s bill would be sent directly to the firm. The husband could have a copy in order to break down the expenses by client for billing purposes or to justify a questionable expense. The responsibility for timely payment would be squarely in the firm’s control. – A Former Bookkeeper