I used to think my aunt was just being cheap about her wedding gift

She gave my cousin $50 for her wedding last year, and everyone was talking about it being too little. But after my cousin told me their mom had borrowed over $2,000 from her and never paid it back, I get it now. The gift was a quiet way to even things out without a big fight. How do you handle money owed by family when a big event comes up?

3 comments

3 Comments

rivera.jake2mo ago

My uncle still owes me $300 from when his car broke down in 2021. For his birthday last month, I just got him a card and wrote a nice note instead of a present. It felt like the only way to deal with it without starting an argument. Family money stuff is so tricky, you just have to find your own quiet way through it.

emma_mitchell28d ago

That quiet approach just lets the problem keep going, doesn't it? A card feels like letting him off the hook for the real issue. Maybe a direct but calm talk would clear the air better than a smaller gift every year.

tylerg302mo ago

Man, @rivera.jake, that's a solid move. I had a cousin who borrowed cash for a phone bill and just... forgot. For Christmas, I got him a cheap gas station coffee mug. It was my quiet way of saying I remembered without making a scene. Sometimes you just have to accept the money's gone and let the gift get smaller every year.