Being a parent is expensive and arguably one of the priciest things parents hope to buy for their kids is tuition for college. For some parents being able to pitch in for the cost is simple, others aren't financially able to but offer other types of support. Saving a little bit of money over a long period of time is one way some parents are able to make the college dream happen for their kids.
That's what one mom and dad were able to do for their daughter — they saved for a long time were able to put aside enough in savings for their daughter to attend college. But, dad decided it was better to use it for something else.
A dad took to Reddit to ask advice after admitting he told his daughter he spent her college fund.
Sharing in Reddit's AITA community, an anonymous dad sought advice on a situation he put himself in between his daughter and his new wife.
"My (55M) wife of two years (31) is very unhappy with her life because she feels like there’s never anything fun or important to do," he started his post off writing. "She did not finish college and feels too old to do so, so jobs are also out of the question."
The original poster says his wife's sister suggested the two open a boutique together and run their own business. This led to a change in his wife's mood.
The husband thought it was a good idea and may help bring his wife out of her funk.
"Starting a boutique is rather costly and it’s been tough to get investment on their end because potential investors are saying that there’s too many boutiques," he explained.
Adding, he said that he "believes in their passion" and he thinks that "if it worked out" the boutique business "would be a good chance for my wife to feel like she’s doing something meaningful."
To open the business, the man said his wife and her sister needed money.
Because he's supportive, OP said he wanted to be able to help out is wife in starting their business and help her find some purpose to her life.
"I’m not terribly liquid right now, but it will be another 4 years before my daughter goes to college," he said.
And that is where he was able to find some cash to give to his wife.
"So I ended up investing $30,000 from the fund that her late mother and I put together," he admitted.
Want to guess how it went? Terribly.
"I told her and she was furious with me and kept trashing my wife’s business idea saying it was dumb and she was dumb," OP said.
Dad then asked the Reddit if he was in the wrong here since his daughter is so upset.
"AITA?" he asked. Adding, "It’s not like my daughter is going to college soon but right now I really want to make my wife happy and not go into an early midlife crisis because she feels powerless in her life. She said herself this was a chance for her to do something important for her life."
The community had things to say about this and didn't hold back feelings.
"YTA," a commenter bluntly wrote. Adding, "That money is for your daughter's future, something that your late wife invested in. Your wife is only 31. That's not too old to finish college or to do literally anything else that doesn't require you attempting to drain your daughter's fund."
"Oh, I'm hearing something," another Redditor joked. "A message from the other side. It's your late wife. She's speaking to me. She's saying … Ah … A – something. No, wait. She's saying, 'A–hole, why the hell are you sacrificing our child's future for your new floozie?' YTA and what a piece of work you are. Stealing from your own child. Are you dressing her in rags and calling her Cinderella, too?"
"YTA," another agreed. "Are you serious? You took money from your daughters education, money her birth mother put there for her, and spent it on 'the new wife'? Congratulations, you just made your daughters future far more precarious." The commenter added, "I would resent you for the rest of my life for this, and I'd be shocked if your daughter won't. I would also get a lawyer and sue you."
We feel for his daughter — it was a gift from her late mom and her dad is going to have a hard time paying it back before she heads to college in four years.
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