An early retirement has become a common goal for a lot of people. In fact, people think the ideal retirement age is 58. In Lizzie’s case, her retirement age goal is set to 55. But what happens when her entitled daughter tries to set her back a few years?
Hello Bright Side,
I’m going to turn 55 soon, and I’ve set my sights on an early retirement at that age. I’ve saved up by turning down any extra luxuries, like vacations and fancy clothes. I’ve even cooked every meal I eat to keep my budget in check and avoid costly restaurant food bills. On top of that, I’ve worked an extra remote job to fund my early retirement.
My plan was set in motion. But when I told my daughter, Amanda, she said she needed money so she and her husband could go on a three-week-long trip around the world. I told her, “I’m not giving you anything, you have your own salary, your husband also has a job, save up for the trip yourselves, I’m not your bank.”
She went on to rant that I barely spent a dime on her, despite me paying off her student debt and saving her from loads of bad investments. Her ungratefulness and entitlement angered me, so I hung up the phone. Now, I’m feeling a little guilty that I did that, but I needed some space, and she was being completely unreasonable. Should I call her back and delay my retirement for a few more years? What do you think?
Sincerely,
Lizzie G.
Your daughter deserve a CURSE, if you have family meeting, and she badmouthing you, do the same (badmouthing her too) and announce you will NOT give your inheritance to her, but to charity because she don't appreciate all support you give to her for YEARS. An eye 👁️ for an eye 👁️, a teeth 🦷 for a teeth 🦷
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Lizzie. Your daughter is old enough to understand that you can’t always be there to finance her every whim. She has a job, her husband has a job, you don’t owe them anything. However, if she had asked nicely, maybe things would’ve looked differently. But her rant just exposed her ungrateful behavior that doesn’t deserve any cent given.
After hanging up on your daughter and taking a few breaths, try to call her back in a calmer state of mind. Let her know that you have no intention of financing her trip with her husband and that you’ve saved this money for yourself.
Then, if she’s still listening, give her some advice about saving her money. A random world trip is a hefty expense, and if she’s not ready to pay for it yet, then it’s best to create a budget plan to save up for it rather than asking for loans she might not be able to pay back in the future.
Keep your early retirement plans intact. You deserve this life break more than ever after working tirelessly and saving lots of money. Now, you get to sit back and enjoy the vacation you’ve been waiting years to accomplish. Maybe you can go on that world trip instead.
Having adult children can be tricky in terms of financing them. They’re grown and independent, so it’s usually best to keep a tighter budget for them, unless they need to loan some money for a major purchase like a house. But that only applies if you know you’ll get your money back. In other cases, some parents feel the need to spend more on one sibling than the other. That was the case for this man who refused to finance his stepdaughter’s wedding.
