When you run a family business, there are a lot of things that you have to keep in mind beyond just the way the business operates and how much money is coming in.

What would you do if you were running a business passed down from your father, but he still kept taking a large salary even though he didn’t work much?

That is the situation that the daughter in this story is in, and she wants to talk to him about how much money he is getting, but she is worried about damaging their relationship.

WIBTA for wanting to talk to my dad about money?

I (28F) work with my partner in our family business.

What a wonderful legacy.

My great-grandfather started it, my grandfather and dad continued it, and now we’ve been running it for the past 5 years.

Thanks to better organization and hard work, we grew the company by about 150–200%. My dad has stepped back a lot, while we handle almost everything day to day.

He has earned a higher salary.

He still takes the largest salary (a comfortable six figures) while each of us earns less than half of that.

I don’t mind that on principle, since it’s a family business and he’s contributed over the years. But lately he’s been saying he wants to raise his salary again because he “can’t save” for retirement.

If the company is making more money, so should he (and everyone).

We’re not even talking huge amounts, just modest retirement funds that the company would also contribute to.

The thing is, he does make enough. The problem is how much he spends. He spoils my step-siblings with very expensive gifts (like a 300€ luxury advent calendar for my stepsister), and he supports my stepmom’s lifestyle.

What he does with his money is none of her business.

She doesn’t work, doesn’t really take care of the kids, and spends huge amounts on shopping, hairdressers, clothes, etc. Their relationship is basically a divorce without the paperwork, yet he still funds her habits.

A few months ago his account was in the red, so I lent him €1000 to help him avoid overdraft fees, a few days later he spent €100 on a SheIn order.

It does seem irresponsible with money.

It left me feeling like he plays broke while actually just spending recklessly.

Meanwhile, my partner and I work 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, with minimal holidays, and we don’t have these money issues even though we earn less less then him. Also we can’t afford to hire extra help for the workload.

What is the ownership arrangement, and who makes these decisions?

I’m grateful for what my family built and I don’t want to take anything away from my dad.

But it’s getting harder to watch him drain resources instead of saving, especially when it directly impacts the business.

There is never anything wrong with talking about your business finances.

Would I be out of line if I sat down with him to talk about this?

AITA?

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The conversation won’t go well, according to this commenter.

Hopefully, this doesn’t end up being true.

This is really the most important factor.

Bringing an accountant into this is a good idea.

Document everything and keep it professional.

This is going to be an uncomfortable conversation.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who reported her manager to HR after being forced to work 24-hours straight.