‘I ended up using a Cash App loan to cover the meal’: Entitled mother pawns restaurant bill off onto her adult kid, despite making it clear they cannot afford eating out

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Mar 23, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

Family takes care of family—usually. Sometimes, family will try to enter through every nook and cranny to get under your thick skin, just so they can gain something from it in the process. Of course, we'd like to think that our family members wouldn't do this to us. They couldn't possibly want to take advantage of us, our kindness, our finances—could they? That's the thing about humanity: It always finds a way of surprising you (and humbling you).

Your mother invites you to dinner, and you tell her you're not capable of paying for the meal because money is tight. She tells you not to worry about it and accompany her anyway. What is dinner etiquette in this scenario in regard to paying the bill? One would assume their mother is treating them to dinner, correct? That's what the kid in this story thought until the mother forced the check on them and they had to take out a loan from a banking app just to get the meal paid for. What could possibly be next? The mother gets angry with them for being angry with her. Make it make sense. Scroll to read.

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  • If someone continues to badger you into going out to dinner—especially your mother—it's safe to assume they're indirectly offering to pay for it. Whenever my friends are holding on until payday and I want to veg out on some Chili's, I make sure to let them know I'm paying for their meal so they can indulge and be gluttonous with me. Technically, I'm paying them to be my guest… This is completely normal. The adult child in this story explains that his mother is well-off financially, but was having debit and credit card issues, yet her credit was still completely usable. Despite this, the check goes to her struggling kid, and she pawns it off on them mindlessly and happily.

  • "My mom then made me feel guilty for asking her to leave the tip because I only had $.30| left after paying for the food." XVO 19z ABC 5 6MNO 8 TW WAY
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

  • "AITA? My mom pushed me to go out to eat then, pushed the bill off on me."

    Today, after I finished work (I get off two hours early on Wednesdays), I was supposed to go grocery shopping for my mom. When I stopped at home, I
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  • went to her house. She told me she hadn't received her new credit card in the mail yet, which she gets every few months because she's paranoid about
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  • someone stealing her card info. That usually means I end up updating all of her online payments because she doesn't know how to use the internet very well.
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  • When I got there, she mentioned the missing card, which was fine because she has three others. However, she didn't want to use them for groceries. That was
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  • okay with me; I could go another day if she preferred. Then, she asked me to take her to Chili's. Now, when my mom says "take me," it's understood that she usually pays. She's financially
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  • well-off, my dad left her comfortable when he passed, and she hasn't worked in over 35 years. So, whenever we go out, she covers the bill, unless it's
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  • something specifically for her, in which case either my brother or I pay. Even my grown nephews will pay when it's for her, but otherwise, my mom always takes
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  • care of the bill. I'm not being entitled, it's just how it's always been. I always thank her, especially since I'm not doing well financially and appreciate. her help.
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  • Before we left, I told her I didn't have money for dinner since my refund check hadn't cleared yet (NFCU takes 2-3 days to release funds), and I get paid on Friday.
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  • 12 PAL JONNY SIZE
    via Allef Vinicius for Unsplash

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • She insisted on going out anyway, and dinner was great. When the bill came, my mom handed it to me. I didn't have enough money, so I ended up
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  • using a Cash App loan to cover the meal. My mom then made me feel guilty for asking her to leave the tip because I only had $.30 left after paying for the food. She
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  • ended up leaving 19 $1 bills she had in her wallet. I told her to keep the ones, and I'd tip the waiter next time since I go there often and know him well.
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  • After leaving, I was upset and speaking quietly. My mom noticed and got angry, saying I was "acting up." I explained that I didn't have the money and still needed gas and food for my kid
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  • before Friday. She yelled, saying that when she and my dad were together, they never fought over money. I clarified I wasn't fighting, just explaining that the situation wasn't ideal. My mom
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  • has always been hard to talk to, and I've noticed myself getting louder when I'm upset lately, but I didn't yell this time. I just explained the situation. She responded that I clearly had the money since I paid for the meal and that she always covers the bill, so what was the big deal?
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  • I tried to explain that the issue was me telling her I didn't have the money, and she still pushed for us to go out after I said I couldn't afford it. I assumed that since she knew I was short on funds, she would cover the bill. I realize now that I shouldn't have assumed that.
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  • So, AITA for getting upset with my mom for pushing the bill onto me when I clearly told her I didn't have it?
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  • Ok_Stable7501 Your mother can pay for grocery and meal delivery. NTA
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  • RaineMist NTA Normally when someone offers to go eat somewhere, they usually pay unless otherwise. Your mom knew you didn't have money and insisted anyway. Only one who should feel guilty is her.
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  • TheOtherOne6 NTA. Your mum knew you didn't have the money. You told her this and she still suggested going out to eat. This implies that she was covering it. She was also the one who suggested eating out. Take this as a lesson and take a step back. You have other priorities.
    via TheOtherOne6

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aita entitled parents entitlement AITAH reddit story restaurant parenting dinner entitled family dinner reddit thread r-entitled parent Reddit Parenting Fail parents entitled people
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