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My sister, who is six years older, had a child immediately after high school and was left as a single mom (I was 13-ish). She had plenty of help from my parents, grandparents, middle sister, and the dad’s parents. She was helped financially with life and school. My father bought a duplex for her to live in, which she has been trying to buy from him ever since (nineteen years now). Six years ago she had another daughter, yet again with a dead beat dad; however, the landscape has changed and I’m sorry to say the first child (now 18) had a lot of responsibility in helping take care of the new…

​​It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question, I’ll give my advice in just a few sentences because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great that being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go. My boyfriend and I have been living in our first apartment for nine months and it’s been really hard. A couple of times I had to pay rent myself because his job was cutting his hours. Neither of us has a car and I’m the one always paying for ubers. He has always been a little irresponsible with his money — spending…

Last weekend my girlfriend, with whom I own a house and have lived with for about ten years, was invited to and went out on a hen night locally. For her this meant getting ready early and out the door by about 6 pm and returning home in the early hours. That’s fine and I am sure she had a good time. However, there was also a wedding which had presumably been planned for a year or more and that my girlfriend had obviously received an invitation for some considerable time before, and she suddenly tells me that the invitation didn’t include me. I’m not sure I believe I wasn’t invited, and…

I have two small children, a boy and a girl, and I reunited with an old classmate of mine a couple months ago. He expressed his feelings for me, he took me to meet his parents, and they enjoyed my company, but there’s a problem. He is currently doing a two-year stint in jail for something he did when be was young. He takes full responsibility for what he has done. I honest to God love this man with all my heart and he loves me just as much, but I’m scared that he might get released and then move on from me. Should I leave him alone or should I hold…

I am a divorced mother of three. My ex was abusive and cheated on me many times. I have been dating “John” for three years now. He is a single father of one. His marriage broke up because his ex-wife ran off with one of his best friends. We’ve recently moved in together. We live in Canada in an area where lap dances are all-touch with few exceptions. There are many strip clubs that offer other “services” at the right price, too. A few months ago John went out with the boys. Before he left, he was very loving and affectionate, saying things like he couldn’t wait to get home later so…

​​It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question, I’ll give my advice in just a few sentences because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great that being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go. I found four videos on my fiancé’s mobile of women at work with close-ups of their feet. “Dan” is filming them while helping them with their computers and they have no idea. I am in shock and disgusted. Do I contact the police and HR where he works? I also found two videos of poor women in town who had no…

A physician who screened me for breast cancer two and a half years ago has had the hots for me since day one. He is two years older than I am and is a single father to a son. His Baby Mama bailed out on them when the kid was weeks old, and much to his surprise, at 31 I don’t have any children and I’ve never been pregnant. We regularly bump into each other and we have both been apparently single throughout this time period. He has been too hesitant to make a move although he professes to be in love with me and to be seeking a long-term relationship, even…

My boyfriend, “Jim,” was off-and-on (mostly off) with his ex-girlfriend, “Gayle,” for close to a decade. During this time, Jim’s sister, “Rebecca” despised Gayle. After his and Gayle’s relationship fell apart yet again — with Gayle stealing a considerable sum of money from him — Rebecca and Gayle have suddenly become inseparable. For the first six months of our relationship, Rebecca could not separate her friendship with Gayle from her relationship with Jim. She actively tried to help get them back together and for months belittled and ridiculed Jim’s and my relationship. During this time, Jim and I continued trying to be nice, inviting Rebecca to dinner, etc., until the torrent of…