Just discovered this thread...I'm sure my father is going to be making lots of appearances. Here's the most recent facepalm.
He sold a property in 2016 and netted ~$60k. He used most of it to pay down debts, which is great; treated himself to a vacation, which I have no real issues with since he works harder than anyone I know and was long overdue for a mental health break; and then blew the rest on nonsense. By April 2017, he only had about $2,000 left. He decided he was going to use it to buy an RV, despite never having expressed any interest in owning an RV, not enjoying camping, and not being the sort of person who wants to up sticks away from his business and snowbird his way around the US. I tried to talk through all of that with him, and also floated the idea of him saving the $2,000 for a rainy day, but he was adamant that he was buying the RV because he was getting such a great deal.
In June, he asked me for a $2,000 loan to explore a new business venture. I asked how that $2,000 RV was working out.
The icing on the cake is that he makes ~$165k/year, so over $200k in 2016 with the property sale. I work in education and only recently got to $45k. One of us is perennially broke and scrambling at the end of the month; one of us has savings and never has to wonder if they have enough money to pay their bills. I will leave it to your imagination to figure out which lifestyle goes with which salary.