CNNMoney.com
Companies Economy International Corrections Pre-market Trading After-hours Trading Winners/Losers/Actives Bonds Currencies Commodities World Markets Money Magazine Real Estate Taxes Jobs Ask the Expert Money 101 Autos Mutual Funds The Help Desk Loan Center Best Places to Live Ask the Expert Ultimate Guide to Retirement Retirement Calculators Best Funds Best Places to Retire Fortune Brainstorm Tech Apple 2.0 Blog Big Tech Blog Sectors and Stocks Tech Talk Resource Guide Small Business Makeovers Questions & Answers Small Business Video 100 Best Places to Launch FSB 100 Fortune Small Business Fortune 500 Brainstorm Tech Investing Management C-Suite Rankings Main Create Portfolio Edit Portfolio Create Alerts Edit Alerts

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.

Rich friend, poor friend
66 percent of Americans say they've had a problem involving money with a close friend or relative.  
Source: Fleming and Schwarz survey
Rich friend, poor friend
Question: A good friend of mine is in the process of taking over his father's real estate development business, which means he now has a great deal of money.

Terry also has a 50-foot sailboat on which my wife and I frequently are guests - not just for the day, but often for the weekend and occasionally for a week-long cruise.

Here's the problem: We make a decent living, but there is no way we can reciprocate this kind of hospitality. What should we do?

Answer: Stop thinking you can't reciprocate. You certainly can. Your obligation is not to treat your friend to something of equal value, but to treat him to something he'll enjoy.

Maybe that's a night at the opera, a day at a ball game or an afternoon at a spa. Whatever you know Terry would most enjoy. The point here is not that you need to match Terry's hospitality dollar for dollar. Rather, it's that the disparity in your resources doesn't free you from your obligation to entertain Terry as thoughtfully as he's been entertaining you.

Test your ethics:
2. Who are more ethical? a) rich people b) poor people c) there's no difference between them.
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
Tipping: Is it an obligation - or just an option - if your server was a complete jerk? (more)
I really don't need another sweater/gift card/pair of socks. Can't I just cut to the chase and ask for cash? (more)
I borrowed money, but my friend's son came with the deal. And now he's got to go. (more)
© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2009 BigCharts.com Inc. All rights reserved. Please see our Terms of Use.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc.
Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real-Time Services and subject to the Terms of Use.
Intraday data is at least 20-minutes delayed. All times are ET.
Historical, current end-of-day data, and splits data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data.
Fundamental data provided by Morningstar, Inc..
SEC Filings data provided by Edgar Online Inc..
Earnings data provided by FactSet CallStreet, LLC.