Your family should always come first. Conversely, setting boundaries and declining help when necessary is perfectly reasonable. The story below is an account of a confused sister. Every year, the original poster (OP) and her family take trips together. OP, however, informed her family that neither she nor her spouse would be able to attend because of her current unemployment. Things were going well at first, but when her brother insisted that she take care of his five dogs the entire journey, t…

Having debt is a major burden. Whether you took out student loans for college , bought a car, or bought a house, you name it, no one likes having debt over their heads. But how would you feel if one day you found out you were $60,000 in debt and had absolutely no clue? And it's not due to negligence on your part, but rather, someone was taking advantage of you? That's exactly what happened to the woman in this story. She was doing just fine on her own, about to graduate college and enter the 'r…

Your priorities should always be centered around your family. You ought to go above and beyond to ensure the happiness of your loved ones. But what would you do if your family openly disregarded your field of employment and treated you like an unnecessary burden? Would you still treat them with the highest regard? The story below is an account of a frustrated cousin. The original poster (OP) volunteered to be the photographer for his cousin's wedding. He felt obligated to help the couple in any…

If you break something, you're responsible for its repair or replacement; that's really just common sense. Hopefully, you have insurance for such things that would cover you if someone needed you to repair or replace it. This responsibility understandably extends to your dependents, pets, and anything else you should have a responsibility and control over—whether or not you take that responsibility seriously. Still, there are situations where the claimant might end up dealing with a claimant wh…

Weddings are an interesting social phenomenon. For starters, the bride and groom's first task is to literally rank their family and closest friends by order of importance to them in order to form their bridal parties, almost like we're back on MySpace with our Top Friends ranked and audaciously on display… From there, everyone else gets a rank, too, with what table they're seated at the reception, letting everyone know loud and clear “where they sit" on your social ladder. If you're seated at a…

Something is really bugging this couple, and it's the name of their daughter. Specifically, the fact that she was named after a genus of cicada without the wife's knowledge. See, the husband is an entomologist (insect scientist) and made a suggestion for their daughter's name when the pair had run into complications with the previous name they were interested in. The problem is that when the husband made the name suggestion, he did so while withholding the fact that the name was actually a genu…

Entitled people possess the uncanny ability to make things that have nothing to do with them completely about themselves, wielding their victim mentality to try and recruit sympathetic people to their cause in order to ultimately get things their way. This man's stepmother decided that his decision to name his child after his late mother was a slight against her, despite it having nothing to do with her and merely being an effort to honor his mother's memory.

Cruise ships: floating palaces packed with tourists and plague that light up the oceans and terrorize whatever small port they happen to land in. You'd have to consider yourself mighty important indeed to think that one of these floating fortresses would forestall its scheduled course in order to accommodate your unfortunately entitled person... Sure, let's leave 3999 people waiting while the 4000th takes their time making your way back to the dock according to their own time. Sure, it's a toug…

Baby names are a tricky subject, especially when you factor in familial traditions that you might be expected to uphold, and limitations, judgment, and grievances that might be placed by the people around on the name you finally settle on. Of course, especially these days, many people want their baby's name to be unique. Yet somehow these people all end up naming their kid some variation of the same thing, not realizing it until their kid is one of dozens of “Theo”s in their class when they sta…

Conducting business can be costly. Since there are no guarantees in business, only the daring among us take the chance and embark on the journey into the corporate world. The story below describes a disappointed sibling. The original poster (OP) had recently lost his father. After the father's passing, the children received equal ownership of the assets and money. As a result, upon inheriting the father's run-down home, OP spotted his chance to become wealthy and realized that real estate was h…

It's often said that you should never ask questions that you don't know the answer to. It should also probably be said that you should never insist on an answer to that question once the chance to give one has been politely declined. Doing so is just setting yourself up for a bad time when the person you're demanding an answer from gives you one that you really don't want to hear… and when things get sensitive, a confrontation is sure to follow. This step-mom insisted on placing herself on the…

Yes, your family should come first, but maintaining healthy boundaries is just as important as maintaining a strong family connection. Having stated that what would you do if your brother came to you for assistance but, in truth, refused to take any necessary action to support himself? Would you remain firm in demanding that your sibling learn how to fend for himself, or would you surrender in silence under the pretense of family loyalty? The brother who is frustrated is described in the story…

A gift is given willingly—usually without having an expectation placed upon it. Sure, when you're a kid, you might have gotten away with giving Mom and Dad some direction as to what to get you so that you didn't end up with something that wasn't worth anyone's money or time. For instance, if you asked your parents for just a generic “Gameboy game,” you'd wind up with some blockbuster movie cash grab that was almost unplayable and made by some third-party developer instead of the Pokemon game yo…

This family seems like they might need to clear some things up before their next dinner party. After marrying his wife, the Original Poster (OP) noticed his mother-in-law was always urging him to save his money. At first, he thought she was just looking out for him. It turns out that she actually plans to have her son-in-law fund her and her husband's retirement since they have no savings themselves. The entitled Boomer mother-in-law accidentally let this information slip when the family was al…

Family dynamics are tough, and when it comes to siblings and cousins—as close as you might be—there's a very good chance that as you grow up you'll grow apart as you find your own path's in life. It's one of the hardest things to experience and leaves a lasting impression on you, but maybe you were better off without them. After all, they're all crazy, but you're not… right? Statistics aren't on your side but surely your apple must have fallen a little further from the tree than the rest of the…

Indeed, family is precious, and you should make every effort to love and support them during good times and bad. But when will you be able to acknowledge that your family members might be taking advantage of you with their constant barrage of absurd demands? The story that follows is written from the viewpoint of an angry sibling. The original poster (OP) and his brother did not share a close bond. Perhaps they were tight as children, but since OP embarked on his journey to adulthood, they’ve g…