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by rconti 12 days ago
When I was a kid, we never had a ton of extra money, but my parents were very supportive-- they paid for most of my college expenses, for example. Their outlook was that us kids shouldn't have to work-- "school is your job". (However, both my sister and I _did_ have jobs while in school).

However, I never _asked_ my parents for money. I had a good education and a well-paying job, and was able to turn IPO money into a house down payment. In the end, we struggled to close the deal, and my wife and I both asked to borrow money from our parents. Of course they were happy to do so, but I still remember it as feeling so hard to do -- just something that I "shouldn't" have to do. And, of course, it also made me reflect on those who didn't have family support to fall back on, let alone jobs that paid well.

3 comments

I have never asked my parents for money. They have had to resort to trickery (asking for bank details for some passport stuff) to send me money. I hope to be able to do the same for my kid.
Always check the pockets of jackets before donating!

My mom snuck $100 in a jacket my wife almost donated without realizing.

Then again, the person receiving the donated jacket could use the $100 more than the person donating it. It's fun to imagine what I might do if a billionaire gave me a million dollars, or 0.1% of their wealth. Thing is, me giving $5,000 to a homeless person would change their life more than me getting that million dollars.
> me giving $5,000 to a homeless person would change their life more than me getting that million dollars.

Ironically yes, it could even get the person killed

For anecdata, what decade did you borrow in?
Loan was originated in 2014. Our particular circumstance was that it was a run-up in home valuations in a short time period that caused appraisals to start coming in short right when we were trying to close. 20% down turned into 10% down plus a small shortfall.
Never had a ton of extra money but your parents can casually pay for your college expenses and buy a house for you?
Excellent work with the reading there, champ.