DR. WALLACE: I loaned my sister $600 so she could buy a car. The car cost $2,600 and she had $2,000 saved. I took the money out of the bank. Now, because my balance has dropped below $100, the bank is charging me a fee of $5 a month.
I think my sister should pay the fee because I'm not charging her interest on the money I loaned her. She borrowed $600 and that's all she's going to pay me back and she told me that I should just close out the account. I don't want to do that. Do you think my sister should pay the $5 a month? — Loaning and groaning, New York, NY.
LOANING: The main troublemaker here is not your sister; it's the bank. To charge you $5 a month for the privilege of keeping your money in their bank is outrageous! Close out the account and find a bank that doesn't charge such unjust fees. Many banks are eager to have teens as customers and will waive all "annoyance" fees.
Now, let's talk about your sister. I feel she is extremely ungrateful for your generous, interest-free loan. She should reimburse you for all the fees you incur. If she refuses to, discuss the matter with your parents. The final decision should be theirs.
YOU WON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN
DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend and I dated steadily for 18 months. He was the perfect guy. He was sweet, polite, sensitive, caring, humorous, and he treated me wonderfully. We discussed having sex when we were ready to accept the responsibility, but he never pressured me.
After many discussions we both agree that sharing sex would be the ultimate display of love and would seal our love forever. He and I only had sex two times. After the first time, he sort of changed. I didn't know what the problem was. Our second sexual encounter was a month after the first and, believe it or not, I was the aggressor. I am still in shock about this.
A week later, he called me and said that he still "cared" for me, but that he didn't want to go out with me again. When I asked them why, he couldn't or wouldn't give me an answer. Two months have passed and the only time I see him is at school, and always say to each other is "Hi", and then he looks the other way.
He is now dating another girl and I get upset when I see him talk with her. He was supposed to be mine. He was my one and only true love. He was my knight in shining armor. Now he is my ex - a lost love forever.
Why did I lose him? You guessed it — sex. I guess we were not as mature as we thought we were. I keep asking myself, "Why did he dump me?" The answer is probably because I gave him everything, and once he had everything he moved on. — Lost lover, via email
LOST: Based on your story, I feel that you are 100 percent correct. On the bright side, I'm positive that you won't allow yourself to make the same mistake again.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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