DEAR ABBY: Several months ago I spoke to a doctor friend about some medical issues my wife was experiencing. He specializes in this particular area. When he advised my wife to come into the office, I told him it was not a good time for us financially. He said not to worry about it.
We made the appointment, and about two months later the bill arrived. We are on a high-deductible health plan and the bill is not cheap. How can I discuss this with my friend without offending? I don’t want to sound presumptuous – I know this is his livelihood – but we would have stuck it out until we were better off financially. – FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY
DEAR “DIFFICULTY”: Call your friend the doctor and explain the situation. If you do, he may reduce the amount of his bill or, alternatively, agree to a payment plan that you can manage.
DEAR ABBY: While our daughter was on vacation with our small grandkids, she bought them postcards and suggested they write us about their vacation.
She said she laughed when the kids finished with the cards because she hadn’t realized they didn’t know how to write a postcard. The children had turned the cards sideways and had written across the entire card from top to bottom. Not wanting to hurt their feelings, she found a half-inch space on one side and in tiny print wrote our names and address.