Mom and older sibling take $10,000 from 23-year-old's savings account, protest when he refuses to repay for the braces he got at 14: 'I'm ashamed to even call them family'

It is quite tragic just how many parents feel entitled to the hard-earned money of their young adult children who are just starting to find their feet. While there are scenarios where, with the right communication, it makes sense for kids to be paying rent or helping out with certain expenses, there are plenty of unfortunate cases where the families of young people manipulate them or even straight-up steal from them because they are seen as an easy way to acquire some extra cash.

One of the many reasons they are seen as a great target is that it is assumed that they are too inexperienced to know any better. However, when the exploitation is so blatant, most people catch on sooner or later. Things can get ugly when this happens, and it can be difficult for the individual whose money is being taken to stand up for themselves. Sometimes they require a little extra support that their family isn't giving them.

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One man felt like this after he refused to pay his mom back a full $4,000 for the braces he had had when he was 14. His reasoning was that she and his older sibling had taken $10,000 from a savings account he hoped to use to pay for college.
He had already paid back $2,500, but he felt that it was unfair to expect him to pay back the full amount as following the loss of his savings, he had struggled greatly. He wanted some validation that he wasn't wrong for not giving in to his mom's demands.
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Am I wrong for not paying my mom back the full amount?

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People assured him that he wasn't the one doing anything wrong.

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