Advice Column

My partner is 40 and has nothing saved for retirement. He had been expecting a large inheritance from his father when he passed that ended up not materializing for reasons I won’t get into (I know, not exactly the most sound financial planning). I’m on track to be able to retire but there’s no way I can afford to save enough for us both. He’s also currently unemployed, he has been trying to get into a new field for the past two years that also may not end up materializing either. There’s a good chance he may be making very low wages for the foreseeable future, and it will be very difficult for him to catch up in any meaningful way.

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I am wondering why so many places recommend saving such large amounts of money, $1 million or more, for retirement. If social security pays $40k per year, and Medicare exists, what is that $1 million being used for?

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My wife (39F) and I (30M) both work full-time, but I’m the only one paying for everything in our household. I cover the mortgage, utilities, groceries, her personal expenses, her phone and any cost that comes up. She keeps her entire salary for herself doesnt contribute. She makes about half of what I do if it helps.

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We’ve been married 7 years together for almost a decade. Last month she mentioned that an old college friend (guy) added her on Facebook. No big deal they were part of the same friend group back then but since then, I’ve noticed she’s been texting him a lot. Nothing flirty or explicit, but it’s frequent random memes, latenight how’ve you been chats etc.

I stumbled on a message where she said she missed the old days. That line just hit me weird. I asked her about it once and she brushed it off, said I was being paranoid. She’s never cheated, and we’ve always had good trust but lately she’s been more protective of her phone, and I can’t help wondering where this goes. I don’t want to accuse her unfairly but it’s eating at me.

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Hi everyone. I’m 28, male. Since I was about 19, I’ve neglected everything except gaming. I’ve gained weight, struggled with gaming addiction, apathy, and depression.

I have no formal education, hobbies, or money for therapy. Every attempt to fix this on my own has failed. I don’t have family or irl friends, just online connections.

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My parents gave me (I’m 17) a monthly payment plan to pay the back for the past years of raising/feeding/everything me. I do have a part time job (still in school) and already give them part of what I earn but this is beyond anything I can afford. I’d never be able to move out I think.

They’re very much holding onto that they’re allowed to do this. That now that I have a job I’m supposed to be paying. They also say I agreed to this when I was younger but I don’t remember, but this could be true. Is there a way they can make it so I legally have to do it?

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My wife of 4 years suddenly does not want kids.. I feel devastated. I can’t tell my family or friends because I don’t want them to judge her.. I feel so alone and depressed. I love her and I know I can’t leave her but how do I get back to my ild happy self? I feel so lost.

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My wife (34) and I (42) have been together 10 years, married for 7. She just got back from a trip to Paris and London with her sister to visit family. Everything seemed normal until she mentioned that a guy hit on her during the trip, asked for her number, and invited her back to his place—she said she told him “hell no.”

Later, I checked her phone just to see if there were any messages related to that interaction. Instead, I found a Hinge verification text, a recent search for “best dating apps in London,” and saw she had downloaded Hinge back in Oct 2023 and even paid the $49 subscription. I also saw she downloaded Bumble as recently as this March.

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My husband and I are at our wits’ end with our son’s obsession over his high school girlfriend — they broke up in 2011. They dated for two years, but when he went away to college, she cheated, ended things, and soon after married the other man.

Our son was devastated. We supported him then, thinking he’d eventually move on. Instead, fourteen years later, he’s still stuck. He checks her social media, knows every detail of her life, and brings her up nearly every time we see him. He’s had a few girlfriends since, but even during those relationships, he still talks about how wronged he was.

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