Dear Amy: I'm a retired 63-year-old living on a pension and Social Security. I am able to put away a bit of savings each month (I still owe money on my home.).
My daughter, 35, just became engaged to a man 13 years her senior who lives with his teenage daughter in a rented house.
A few years ago I told my daughter that I set aside $20,000 for either her wedding or for a down payment on a house, if she chooses to buy one.
A couple of months ago, she told me that she owed the IRS $8,000. She chose to receive $10,000 from the stash to pay the IRS and settle other bills.
Now they're planning a wedding that will cost more than the $10,000 left in the fund. Friends and family say I ought to pay up to the $20,000 I originally promised her.
The amount represents about 8 percent of my total savings.
Amy, should I stick to my original promise, or should I break my piggy bank so I won't seem cheap?
No one else knows about the cash advance my daughter took.
I suggested that she ask for her fiance's credit score so she is aware of how financially responsible he is.
She says she doesn't want to be too "nosy."
— Father of the Bride