cover image Isn’t It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check?

Isn’t It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check?

Leonard Schwarz, Jeanne Fleming, . . Free Press, $21 (244pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-4200-1

Want to know if your parents are financially obligated to pony up for your dream wedding or if your cousin is owed your recently deceased mother’s painting though there is no mention of it in her will? Chances are someone has already asked and received an answer on how to deal with it from Money magazine and CNNMoney Web site contributors Fleming and Schwarz. They cover nearly every point and question of financial etiquette and fiscal ethics in this advice collection. Breaking the monotony of page after page of questions and answers are statistical results from a Money Magazine poll regarding financial attitudes toward family and friends, along with results from a survey the authors commissioned separately. General rules of thumb are also offered on such topics as evaluating loan requests and what exactly should be included when putting private loan agreements into writing. While a highly useful book to have as a reference, receiving it as a gift could represent a not so subtle hint that a change in behavior is needed. (Jan.)