| Dear Carolyn: My partner and I have been together a few years. We’re both older — I’m eyeing retirement although I have a child to get through college — but I’m financially stable while he is minimally employed, with no savings. Covers his bills, and that’s it. He’d love to move in with me but I can’t bring myself to do this unless and until he can help financially with the household bills. He contributes in many, many other ways, largely because he has more free time than I do (ahem), and he is a kind, loving and decent partner. So why am I placing so much importance on money? I feel like we are the ant and the grasshopper. He’s not lazy, but he is quite smart and has calculated how working a soul-crushing job doesn’t make mathematical sense. Philosophically I agree with him, and I even value his unconventional way of thinking in other areas, but high-minded rhetoric doesn’t pay the bills. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and get your [butt] to work. Am I wrong? — The Ant | 
