By Quentin Fottrell
Divorce, student debt, airline travel, house purchases and inheritance comprised the top 5 most read columns of the year.
Happy New Year. Did you manage to avoid any financial disasters? It’s been quite a year for this column, which celebrated 10 years in November. It’s a privilege and an honor to read people’s questions and have them share the stories of their lives, and it’s important to never forget that you never know what somebody is going through. If I disagree with the letter writer, as I sometimes (but not always) do, I try to keep this in mind.
Quentin Fottrell
The bonus of writing an advice column for 10 years: The number of people who start their letters with “long-time reader, first-time writer” or “I never thought I’d end up writing to you” has become more frequent. I’ve noticed it particularly over the last year. The fact that people write in based on responses to previous letters ups the ante and the responsibility to give a fair and balanced reply. Readers sometimes require legal assistance — but asking for help is the first step.
Here are the top five Moneyist columns of 2024:
A husband who chose golf over work made it to the No. 1 spot of the Moneyist’s most popular columns of 2024. A woman, based in Wisconsin, wondered whether her husband would have a 50/50 right to her home if she divorced him after 14 years of marriage. He preferred his golf cart to a workspace, and did not contribute financially to their marriage. Crucially, she purchased the house before they were married.
What happens when a grandfather co-signs on a student loan and subsequently dies? And what happens if the borrower then skips town? The latter is not so uncommon: Research shows that a quarter of co-signers end up making at least one payment. It’s easy to write the borrower off as a ne’er-do-well, but there is also an opportunity to contact them and help them face up to their problem.
This letter was divisive. Who was right? The passenger who paid full price for premium economy only to see a mother and daughter seat-jump to more expensive seats in his area? Or the mother and daughter who fancied stretching out for the remainder of the flight? A gray moral area inflamed some readers who care about the etiquette of airline travel, but some thought the letter writer ought to more judiciously pick his battles.
Beware of in-laws bearing gifts, especially when they request that their names go on the deed of your home. This is a classic case of “I wish they had written before they accepted their in-laws’ offer.” This situation was a cautionary tale for others considering accepting a gift (with strings attached) and a case of damage control. The sooner they regained their financial independence, the better.
What’s yours is ours and what’s mine is mine. When the financial scales are tipped in favor of one partner, especially a couple who meet later in life, it can lead to some awkward requests — including this woman who believed it was right and proper for her husband of three years to include her in his will. She is seven years older than her partner, leading to her concerns about a joint estate (and inheritance) plan.
In the pages of the Moneyist, as in life, there are two sides to every story — and as we only get one, it can take some mental gymnastics and a bit of imagination to put yourself into the shoes of the other party. Financial problems do not exist in a vacuum: Rocky relationships, fear, ego and impulsiveness can lead people down unwelcome paths. Your bank balance and your emotional life often go hand in hand, even if we don’t see it at first glance.
Happy New Year, readers. And thanks for coming along for the ride.
