A done-with-it dad took to Reddit after he spent his daughter’s college money on himself. In his view, she gave up the dough when she dropped out. Here is the whole story.
College Dropout
OP has a 20-year-old daughter who recently decided she wanted to go back to college after dropping out a couple of years ago. But she had a surprise waiting for her.
During her growing-up years, OP and his wife had saved for their daughter’s education. When she graduated high school and enrolled in college, they started paying for it as planned.
But after just a few months in school, OP’s daughter dropped out of college. She said it just wasn’t her bag.
At the time she left school, OP’s daughter also asked him if she could still have her college fund but use it for something else.
Forfeiting Her Funds
OP and his wife told her that money was set aside for college and that she’d forfeit it if she didn’t want to go to school. They’d use it for something else.
OP’s daughter wasn’t happy with that answer, but she was done with school, so she moved on. Eventually, OP’s daughter moved in with her boyfriend and went to work for his family’s restaurant business.
When her relationship fell apart, OP’s daughter had to find new work, too. She moved from job to job, but nothing clicked.
Returning to Education
Finally, after a couple of years of bouncing around, OP’s daughter decided she wanted to go back to school. So she came to him and told him she was ready to use the money he had saved for college.
The problem was that OP and his wife had done exactly what they told their daughter they would do.
In particular, OP and his wife had wanted to remodel their kitchen for years, but they always held off since they were saving for their kids’ education.
Kitchen Remodel
But when OP’s daughter dropped out of school and went to work, he decided to finally tackle the kitchen remodel. He used his daughter’s college fund for the project.
When OP told his daughter that there was no money for her tuition, she flipped out. She said she didn’t think her parents would actually spend her money on themselves, even though they told her they would.
And the daughter was distraught that OP wouldn’t help her out since he was already paying for her younger brother’s tuition.
She Was Warned
But OP pointed out again that he had warned her the money would be gone. And her brother never stopped going to school, so OP was keeping both ends of his deal.
None of that made OP’s daughter feel any better, but he didn’t leave her completely high and dry.
OP told his daughter that she should keep working and go to a cheaper school, like a community college. He was willing to let her live at home for free to help her get through.
Alternatives Rejected
The daughter didn’t like any of those suggestions, though, and now she’s not talking to OP or his wife.
OP’s wife wants him to back down and says they can dip into their retirement accounts to help out their daughter.
But they’re already behind on their retirement savings because of their kids’ college funds, and OP doesn’t want to risk his own future because his daughter changed his mind.
Their Money, Their Choice
For the most part, Redditors think OP has the right idea and was fully justified in using his daughter’s college money.
They agree that he gave her plenty of warning and only did what he promised he would do.
Some commenters do think the turnaround was a little quick, considering that many young people change their minds about college early in their adult lives. Even they tend to agree that OP can do what he wants with his money.
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Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Samborskyi
Source: Reddit