After Giving His Son Money For An Investment, A Father Demands He Pays It Back Using His College Fund
This dad cares more about teaching his son a lesson than he does about getting his money back.
voronaman / Shutterstock It can be challenging for kids to learn about money. Even if you’re taught about it at home and in school, there’s nothing that can truly prepare you for the real world — managing finances, paying bills, and budgeting sound so easy in the hypothetical.
One dad decided he had no choice but to take some drastic measures to teach his son about responsibility and the value of money.
The dad told his son he would have to pay him back using his college fund after losing his money in an investment.
“My son came to me with a foolproof investment,” he wrote in a Reddit post. “I told him it was not a great idea. He said that he had a bunch of money in his education fund, and I should just give it to him.”
His father didn't think it was a good idea to take the money out of his education fund but offered up a different option.
“I told him that I would loan him the money, but that if his investment didn’t pay off, then he had to pay me back from his education fund,” he said.
This seemed like a fair trade-off, so his son agreed and even signed a contract that detailed interest payments. But, unfortunately, the investment didn't go as his son hoped.
“His foolproof investment went poof,” his dad wrote. “He got a job. It turns out that working for a living is harder than school. It’s been two years, and he is going to community college this fall. He managed to save up exactly $0 from two years of work. He did have a string of girlfriends and a few vacations, though.”
“I told him he has to pay me back before he empties the account. He got upset that I’m taking his money meant for his education,” he continued.
His son was incredibly unhappy, but the man was simply sticking to the terms of their agreement. Really, the fact that he had not collected the money sooner was kind on his part.
“I asked him how much money would be in the account if I had let him invest it,” the dad added. “He didn’t have an answer. I got my money but he is pissed.”
Loaning money to those close to you is never a great idea.
Things quickly become complicated when money is involved. “Lending money to friends and family can lead to financial problems for you and potentially cause relationship damage,” finance expert Rebecca Lake wrote in an Investopedia article.
Lake also pointed out that one of the most important things to consider when loaning money is the likelihood of recouping your funds. “Aside from the financial implications, it’s also important to think about how likely you are to get the money back,” she wrote. “If the friend or family member who’s asking for a loan is responsible about paying their bills and experiencing a one-time financial crisis, being paid back might not be an issue.”
It sounds like this man’s son was perhaps not the most responsible person — wanting to use your college fund on a so-called "foolproof" investment doesn't exactly signal responsibility.
At the end of the day, this dad wanted to teach his son an important lesson — it really wasn’t about getting the money back. “I could afford to write off the money. It is substantial but not crippling to my future," he wrote. "But I need him to understand that money isn’t free.”
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.