Context: My father-in-law (FIL, henceforth) lives in a single-story home ("bungalow") in an extremely affluent neighborhood. He is reasonably well off, but not "rich". He mainly gained his money by buying a home for a modest price in the 1970's and seeing the housing market explode such that the value increased from it's original price of around $40,000-$50,000 to being worth over $1,000,000. However, he sold half of that to his daughter and retains only half of the equity. Before he sold her half of the house (in which she presently resides with her family), he rented some of it to other tenants to get more money to purchase a second property in another state. The house is unusual in that it is divided into two homes on a single level (two kitchens, two baths, two living rooms, etc.), so he and his daughter live separately in the same dwelling.
In consultations with his children, it has been explained that each of his three children will equally inherit a portion of his half of the estate if any remains. However, my FIL is a very selfish person who values his comfort above all else. He spends without looking at price tags, though he does not have relatively "rich" tastes. He does indulge and spent $2,000 on a pure-bred dog and spends several hundred dollars a month on toys and special treatment for the dog. He remarked recently in a phone call to my husband that he did not look at prices and joked that, "I guess I'm spending your inheritance." He also said that he might come to regret his indulgence in the future.
The Dream: My husband and I were supposed to visit my FIL in his home, but he seemed to have forgotten. We went to his home and There was someone living on the first floor - ostensibly a renter. My FIL was living on the second floor. We (husband and I) pretended not to be relatives in order to understand the circumstances. We wanted to know how the house was divided between my FIL and the tenant and generally figure out what was going on.
The tenant was talking to us about the situation and how communal spaces were managed. My FIL suddenly came downstairs and was acting like we were the relatives that we were and I put a finger to my lips to get him to not say anything as we spoke to the tenant.
My thinking within the dream was that my FIL had somehow managed to squander too much of his (still fairly considerable) assets through carelessness and that this tenant was taken on as a result of that carelessness.
Analysis: I believe this dream was a simple reflection on recent interactions with my FIL and his guilt, nervousness, and insecurity as reflected in his volitional statements about his spending. It should be noted that my husband and I never comment on his finances or spending. He talked about these things spontaneously. I was simply "replaying" his words while I was asleep. The implication of his assertion that he may "come to regret" spending money without considering prices was that he could run out of money one day if he keeps this up. I believe that is how the tenant in the dream entered the picture.
Interpretation Confidence Scale Rating (1-10): 9
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