Dear Margo® by Margo Howard

Dear Margo: My boyfriend and I are both 26 and have been dating for two years, after knowing each other for two and a half years prior to that. We are both doing everything we can to get our professional lives going, despite the economy, but we can't afford to live together right now. We both live with our parents and are paying rent. I've decided this isn't working for me, so I need to find a new place, but can't afford much.

Enter my boyfriend's stepuncle, with a house in a very nice part of town. He's hardly home, as he spends most of his time in another town with his wife. He has offered me a room with all utilities and house privileges for $500/month (a little high, but doable). At first he told me my boyfriend could stay two nights a month for free, but that he would charge me $20 a night thereafter. Then my boyfriend's mom informed me that he changed his mind and wants to charge me for every night my boyfriend stays over, with the justification that a hotel would be more expensive. I think such logic makes our relationship seem cheap or fleeting. I don't know how to handle this mercenary. — Young, In Love and Almost Broke

Dear Young: Considering this man is part of your boyfriend's family, charging you rent sounds kinda chintzy, especially since you say his house sits empty much of the time. And why should he be paid extra if you, as a renter, have a guest? He is not a hotel with double occupancy rates. If I were you, I would suggest you act as a house sitter (because you are a student with limited funds), and if you can't shame him into a better deal, spend your money elsewhere.

Parties Where Children Should Be Neither Seen Nor Heard

Dear Margo: Every year we have our company Christmas party. My boss is nice enough to include spouses and significant others, but a couple of co-workers have taken advantage by bringing their children. Don't get me wrong, the kids are well behaved, but we have to be careful with what we talk about, making it harder to enjoy ourselves. We all choose a few nice restaurants and vote on where to go, but the deciding factor comes down to the few parents who want to bring their kids and what they would like. I think the deciding people should be the ones who work here, not their children. Do you have any suggestions about how to discourage people from bringing their children to an adult company party and causing the venue to be based on the wants or whims of an 8 year old? — Past Their Bedtime

Dear Past: I do have a suggestion. You and a few colleagues should go to your boss (assuming he is not one of those bringing children!) and state your case, which is this: Little kids do not belong at such a function, both because of the alcohol being served and the fact that they don't fit in. The purpose of these gatherings is traditionally for grownups to socialize with colleagues as a holiday treat. A company party for employees' children is one thing, but what you describe is quite another. If the ultimate choice has been made by those parents who inappropriately choose to bring their children, you are lucky you haven't wound up at Chuck E. Cheese's. — Margo, fittingly

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Dear Margo is written by Margo Howard, Ann Landers' daughter. All letters must be sent via e-mail to dearmargo@creators.com. Due to a high volume of e-mail, not all letters will be answered.

COPYRIGHT 2009 MARGO HOWARD

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