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Teen Forces Mom Into Divorce, Shocked To Find Her College Fund Was Used Up On Exactly That
Teen Forces Mom Into Divorce, Shocked To Find Her College Fund Was Used Up On Exactly That
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Teen Forces Mom Into Divorce, Shocked To Find Her College Fund Was Used Up On Exactly That

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The cost of university leaves most graduates saddled with near-crippling debt. Even if you’re on a scholarship, few cover the entirety of what you’ll be expected to spend. Good parents try to mitigate this to some extent by investing in their children’s education early and often.

One recent high school graduate had a rude awakening when she turned to her mom for help with her upcoming university fees, only to find out the entire fund had been spent. Her mom explained why she only had herself to blame, but asked netizens if that was a jerk move.    

More info: Reddit

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    The cost of raising a troubled child is high, as this woman’s daughter found out the hard way

    Young girl with red hair, focused on drawing with a pencil, linked to university funds and past behavior story.

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    After falsely accusing her mom’s new husband of inappropriate behavior, her mom had to pay for an expensive divorce

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    529 education fund description for daughter's university savings impacted by behavior.

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    When she was in her teens, she got expelled twice, forcing her mom to shell out more money for a pricey private school

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    Text revealing a teen's actions and their impact on family and finances, linked to her college funds and past behavior.

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    Now that she’s graduating, she asked her mom about the money in her university fund, but her mom explained to her it had all been spent raising her as a single, divorced parent

    Text detailing university funds spent on divorce, living costs, and private school tuition.

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    The daughter now realizes she only really has herself and the childish actions of her past to blame for her predicament 

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    To add insult to injury, her mom has also let her know that she won’t be cosigning her loans

    Text discussing refusal to cosign university loans due to past bad behavior.

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    Knowing that her daughter would now need to take out a loan, the mom turned to netizens to ask if telling her the hard truth was a jerk move

    OP begins by telling the community that her daughter lost her dad when she was 5. When her husband passed, his insurance was enough to pay off a small house, put aside something for a rainy day, and top up her daughter’s education fund.

    When her daughter was 11, OP met and married her new husband, something she thought her daughter was OK with since she’d never mentioned anything otherwise, even in therapy. Two years later, though, she accused the stepdad of inappropriate behavior, leading to him being arrested and losing his job.

    Well, the couple got divorced and OP says she punished her daughter, which led to her acting out and being expelled from two schools. OP’s only solution was to send her to an expensive private school that she’s graduating from soon. When the topic of university fees came up, though, her daughter was in for a shock.

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    OP broke down how the university fund had been spent over the years, taking into account the expensive divorce, private school, and the rising cost of raising a child as a single parent. Her daughter got all kinds of upset, prompting OP to ask netizens if she was a jerk for exposing the hard truth.

    It would seem highly likely that OP’s daughter is going to have to take out a student loan. If you’re a student, you can probably relate. But just what is the state of America’s student debt crisis? We went looking for answers.

    Woman holding a laptop in a modern office, shelves in background, expressing concern over university funds issue.

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    In his article for Forbes, Robert Farrington writes that, collectively, students and families are borrowing way too much money for degrees that don’t always have the best return on investment.

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    One of the biggest factors forcing students to borrow more is the rising cost of attendance, plus the cost of room and board. CollegeBoard data indicates that for the 2023-2024 academic year, average in-state costs to attend a public four-year institution came in at $11,260. This is $270 higher than the 2022-2023 year.

    According to the Education Data Initiative website, in 2024, US citizens owed a total of $1.75 trillion in federal and private student loan debt combined, and federal student loan debt alone totaled $1.62 trillion. What’s more, the cost of college attendance has increased at an annual rate of 6.8%, a growth rate 196.2% faster than currency inflation and 89.2% faster than wage inflation.

    With the skyrocketing price of going to university and the low chance of landing a lucrative job once you graduate, it’s no wonder OP’s daughter is having a hard time dealing with the consequences of her angry actions. 

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    What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think she’s a jerk for telling it like it is, or is her daughter acting like an entitled brat? Let us know your opinion in the comments!  

    In the comments, readers lamented the fate of the woman’s ex-husband and slammed her daughter for ruining the poor man’s life, child or not

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    Ivan Ayliffe

    Ivan Ayliffe

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    After twenty years in advertising, I've decided to try my hand at journalism. I'm lucky enough to be based in Cape Town, South Africa and use every opportunity I get to explore everything it has to offer, both indoors and out. When I'm not reading, writing, or listening to podcasts, I spend my time swimming in the ocean, running mountain trails, and skydiving. While I haven't travelled as much as I'd like, I did live in !ndia, which was an incredible experience. Oh, and I love live music. I hope you enjoy my stories!

    Read less »
    Ivan Ayliffe

    Ivan Ayliffe

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    After twenty years in advertising, I've decided to try my hand at journalism. I'm lucky enough to be based in Cape Town, South Africa and use every opportunity I get to explore everything it has to offer, both indoors and out. When I'm not reading, writing, or listening to podcasts, I spend my time swimming in the ocean, running mountain trails, and skydiving. While I haven't travelled as much as I'd like, I did live in !ndia, which was an incredible experience. Oh, and I love live music. I hope you enjoy my stories!

    What do you think ?
    Ace
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Reasons to Never Have Children. #347 in an infinite list.

    Jay Scales
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, some women DO lie about SA - which is an incredible disservice to all the genuine victims. I had a friend whose daughter accused her stepfather, & the whole family was put thru immense stress & disruption. As in this case, he was eventually cleared & she admitted to police that she'd lied... but the damage was done in many ways.

    Nikole
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    True. But how many women don’t even go to the police or are waved off when they do so? Incidents like this certainly don’t help, but the percentage of fake rápe accusations is incredibly low.

    Load More Replies...
    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    9 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There was a story similar to this on BP last year. *But* the daughter's lies made the poor stepdad unalive himself. His life went so bad so fast he couldn't cope. When the truth came out (there was no SA ) the mom was shattered. Daughter didn't GAF.

    Load More Comments
    Ace
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Reasons to Never Have Children. #347 in an infinite list.

    Jay Scales
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, some women DO lie about SA - which is an incredible disservice to all the genuine victims. I had a friend whose daughter accused her stepfather, & the whole family was put thru immense stress & disruption. As in this case, he was eventually cleared & she admitted to police that she'd lied... but the damage was done in many ways.

    Nikole
    Community Member
    9 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    True. But how many women don’t even go to the police or are waved off when they do so? Incidents like this certainly don’t help, but the percentage of fake rápe accusations is incredibly low.

    Load More Replies...
    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    9 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There was a story similar to this on BP last year. *But* the daughter's lies made the poor stepdad unalive himself. His life went so bad so fast he couldn't cope. When the truth came out (there was no SA ) the mom was shattered. Daughter didn't GAF.

    Load More Comments
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