Isn't it their turn to pick up the check?

Money is great, if only it didn't get all tangled up with relatives. And friends. And kids. Our money & ethics advisers take your questions in their new book.

Sticky situations
Illustrations by Michael Witte for Money Magazine
Sticky situations
Which would you rather have: a bad case of the flu or a relative ask you for a large loan? We asked this question of over 800 people in a national survey and more than two-thirds of them said: I'll take the flu.

This is a book about what to do when you can't choose the flu. Consider it a handbook for the awkward moments and uncomfortable situations that the intersection of money and personal relationships so often gives rise to.

It's meant to give you enough ammunition - enough moral support - so that when money-and-relationship troubles darken your door, you won't feel like you'd rather have the flu.

Excerpted from Isn't It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check? by Jeanne Fleming and Leonard Schwarz, authors of Do the Right Thing, Money Magazine's ethics column. Copyright © 2008. Published by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster. Reprinted with permission.
Last updated February 14 2008: 1:18 PM ET

Sticky situations

Strings attached

Rich vs. poor

Good will

Pay for mistakes

Friends as lenders

The score
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.