Dear Prudence,
Over the past couple of months, my boyfriend has been having an unlucky bout of car troubles. He has spent close to $2,000 on maintenance and repairs on his 10-year-old car. While he has had to dip into his savings to make these repairs, he isn’t ruined by the expenses. I’ve been trying to be as helpful and supportive as possible, and it wasn’t hard for me at the beginning. However, as he continues to be emotionally distraught over his situation, I have noticed that I am struggling to continue to be empathetic. The thing is that I grew up poor. If these expenses had happened to me, I wouldn’t have anyone in my life who could afford to bail me out. On the other hand, his family is very comfortable and would give him an interest-free loan if he truly needed it. I hate that my past seems to cloud my ability to empathize with his financial stress. How do I drown out the voice in my head that screams, “You have help while a lot of people don’t, and you’re going to be fine”?
—Not That Bad