Imagine this: Your parents promise you a bright future good education, college degree, financial freedom. But then, one day, you discover the truth: your mom stole your college tuition money. Sounds unreal, right? But for some people, this nightmare is real.
Some moms sneak a few fries off your plate. Others? They steal your future. It’s not just betrayal it’s financial abuse, and it can ruin your dreams of going to college, getting a good job, or building a secure life.
One Reddit user shared a heartbreaking story. His dad had saved for years to build a college fund. But that money didn’t go toward tuition. It ended up in his mom’s secret savings account. She used the money for herself and then had the nerve to ask him to pay for home maintenance costs for a family cottage he barely visits. Talk about emotional manipulation.
If someone steals your student fund or your education savings, it’s not just a family issue it’s a legal and financial crisis. This kind of action can hurt your credit score, stop you from getting student loans, and delay your entire career.
Some moms pack lunches, others pack up your tuition and make it disappear like it’s a cheap magic trick
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Man claps back at his mom after she asks him to pay for using the family cottage, despite stealing his entire college fund that his dad saved up for him
Image credits: Kampus Production (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Simon Sikorski (not the actual photo)
The man tells his mom to take out the “maintenance” money she asks for from what she owes him after stealing his tuition
When the OP (original poster), now 33 years old, was preparing for university, his mom dropped a painful truth: there was no college tuition fund. While this might shock most people, it didn’t surprise him. Sadly, he had already gotten used to feeling let down by her.
Years ago, his dad gave his mom money to build a college savings account for their son. She only put in the first small amount and then spent the rest on herself. Instead of investing in her son’s future, she emptied the fund and made him promise not to tell his father the very person who had trusted her with thousands of dollars for their child’s education.
And here’s the painful part: the OP spent four years pretending to be thankful, smiling at family dinners, while secretly buried under student loan debt. He acted grateful to both parents, even though his dreams were stolen in silence.
Thankfully, over time, he’s created some emotional distance from his mom. And honestly, who could blame him?
But things got even worse. The family owns a shared vacation home, a cottage the mom treats like luxury real estate. She lives there for about three months a year and barely lets her son visit for a weekend. Then, out of nowhere, she sends him a $1,000 maintenance bill, expecting him to help pay.
His response? “Sure, just take it out of the tuition fund you owe me.” Mic drop.
Her reaction? She called him manipulative for bringing up the stolen college money and for saying he might tell his dad. But the real pain isn’t about the cash it’s about the fact that his own mother never does anything for him unless she benefits from it.
This story is more than just about money theft. It’s about emotional abuse, broken trust, and the damage caused by toxic family relationships. If you’ve ever experienced something similar, know that your feelings are valid and you deserve better.
Image credits: Mike Jones (not the actual photo)
After stealing her son’s entire college tuition fund, this mom had the nerve to call him manipulative just for bringing it up. But let’s be real: this isn’t just selfish behavior. It’s a textbook case of narcissistic parenting.
When a parent puts their own wants before their child’s future, demands silence to protect their image, and still expects gratitude, that’s not parenting that’s emotional abuse. It’s not just about the money anymore. It’s about years of emotional manipulation.
Narcissistic parents don’t say sorry. They don’t reflect. They rewrite history, act like the victim, and make you feel guilty for holding them accountable. Sound familiar?
The “don’t tell your dad” line? That wasn’t just a secret it was gaslighting. A tactic to make the OP feel like telling the truth would be a betrayal, even though he was the one betrayed.
And let’s not forget the emotional chess game:
- First, guilt.
- Then, denial.
- Finally, acting like he was the ungrateful one for not paying $1,000 in cottage maintenance for a vacation home she barely let him visit.
This wasn’t just a stolen college fund. It was a stolen sense of trust, built over years of being made to feel like he owed her while she took everything.
Manipulative parents don’t always yell or fight. They sweet-talk, deflect, and slowly make you doubt your own reality. You thank them for crumbs while they rob you blind emotionally and financially.
So here’s the question:
Would you have told your dad about the stolen money? Or would you have stayed quiet, like the OP, to keep the peace?
Netizens side with the man, saying he is not a jerk for clapping back at his mom, but suggesting he should tell his dad the truth
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