I’ve been in college for 2 years now and my parents (dad and stepmom), who are well off, have paid for everything I need and a lot of what I want, from groceries to rent to tampons and more. I’m so incredibly grateful for their support but it always comes with strings attached. Some examples:
- They won’t pay for college if I get a tattoo. I have talked with them about this one and they came around and although they probably wouldn’t be happy, they wouldn’t cut me off.
- They won’t let me move into a 1-bedroom apartment- even though it’s similar finances- because they believe I need to have roommates for a full college experience, even though that’s not necessarily the experience that I want.
- They constantly hold the monetary situation over mine and my siblings heads for everything and they use it as a bargaining weapon- “you want do to this? I guess I don’t have to pay for college.”
I’m getting tired of feeling so controlled, even though they’ve let the leash go over the years. I’m thinking of cutting myself off from them so that I don’t feel our relationship being so strained.
So first- Am I just being entitled? Would I be stupid to refuse their money for college?
Second- how should I go about making myself financially independent? I feel like I could get scholarships for my good grades/ extracurricular and I go to a state school so tuition is lower. What types of financial aid are available?
Edit: Thank you to everyone who gave me constructive advice. I was definitely afraid that I was being entitled, which I think was partially true. I’m extremely appreciative for what I have but I don’t think I really thought about what it would be like to be completely financially independent. They really do have my best interest in mind and I’m still maturing in handling my relationship with them. I decided to totally forego the idea and work on the underlying issues in my relationship with my parents. Again, thank you to everyone who was so kind and level-headed in their advice.
Submitted May 01, 2019 at 06:01PM by haworthia77 http://bit.ly/2ITN1is
