'She moved on with life, I'm stuck in debt': Girlfriend secretly kept college boyfriend's card details after lending her $20 for gas, began using it for dinners, online shopping, and a girls' trip, leaving him with maxed-out debt and a ruined credit score

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Oct 1, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

They say the heaviest financial expense someone could have is a girlfriend…But I think that only applies when a person is voluntarily spending money on their significant other. Unlike this turn of events, when this college student lent his credit card to his girlfriend for a quick $20 gas refill…Little did he know that would be the biggest mistake of his life…Instead of filling up the tank and giving him a lil' chapstick-stained 'thank you' kiss on the cheek, she decided holding onto his card details would be a much more effective idea.

So she held on tight…using it for online shopping, expensive dinners, and even a weekend getaway with the girls. When he checked his account, he couldn't believe his eyes: figures hitting below zero, what the heck? He confronted her…and her response? Calling him cheap. A response that truly made us wonder if she even knew what she was doing was so blatantly wrong. As you can imagine, that relationship ended sooner than it started. However, she was able to move on with life, while he's stuck, shoulders-deep in a pile of debt that he didn't even build. 

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  • Hey, I guess that is what they call love, a gambling game. And he gambled, all right. It’s safe to say that he lost everything. We know this because his girlfriend was the one rolling the dice. Now he has to deal with the consequences of playing a game with someone who had no respect for him and a heavy streak of deceitfulness on the side. 


     

  • 01
    Shocked man standing by an ATM
    via billionphotos

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    My ex treated my credit card like it was her personal piggy bank

    So this was a while back but I'm still paying for it, literally and mentally. When I was dating my ex, things started out pretty normal.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 03
    We were both broke college kids, splitting cheap takeout and stressing about rent. Then one day her car ran out of gas and she begged me to let her "just use my credit card for a quick $20 fill- up." I figured no big deal, it was just gas, and I trusted her.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 04
    Biggest mistake of my life. After that one time, it became constant. Suddenly she "forgot" her wallet every time we went out.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 05
    If we grabbed dinner with friends, the check always somehow ended up on my card. At first I thought, okay, I'll just get paid back later.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 06
    But when I brought it up, she laughed and said, "What's the point of being in a relationship if we can't share" Like excuse me It escalated fast.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 07
    She started ordering clothes online, random Amazon packages, even a weekend trip with her friends, all on my card.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 08
    Woman collecting a package delivery
    via freedomz

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 09
    I didn't even know until I checked my account and nearly had a heart attack. When I confronted her, she got defensive and called me "cheap" for caring about money.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 10
    By the time we broke up, my card was maxed out, I had late fees, and my credit score tanked.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 11
    She moved on with her life while I was stuck with the debt. I had to work overtime shifts just to catch up, and it took months to get things under control again.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 12
    Edit: Thanks for the advice in the DMs guys and some people are asking how I'm dealing with credit now.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 13
    I learned the hard way and stopped letting anyone near my cards. These days I'm only using debit cards that actually build credit, like Fizz or Discover's debit builder.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 14
    That way I'm still building my score but can't spend money I don't already have. Honestly feels way safer and it keeps me from repeating that nightmare.
    via Weary-Hair-316
  • 15
    Woman online shopping
    via gettysignature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 16
    sallystruthers69 How do you "not notice" your card is maxed out? You hopefully learned your lesson to not give your credit card to others to use. Girlfriend or otherwise. Have fun paying off her shopping spree.
    via sallystruthers69
  • 17
    Cursd818 All you had to do was take your card back and say no. People treat you how you allow them to treat you. You need to acknowledge the part that you played in this and learn from it. She definitely s ks, but you were extremely financially irresponsible by doing nothing to stop it.
    via Cursd818
  • 18
    SemtaCert I don't understand why you didn't stop her using it after the first time she used it without your permission. How did you get to the point of letting it get maxed out and having late fees. She definitely was in the wrong, but your pretty silly to let it get this far.
    via SemtaCert
  • 19
    dinoooooooooos I mean you had SO much time to fix it before it got out of hand tbh. There's only a tiny bit of "poor you" in this bc quite frankly, the first two weeks ok but after that? Nah that's on you Imao You can take the card back yknow
    via dinoooooooooos
  • 20
    Using an ATM
    via pixelshot

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 21
    BestAd5844 You should have reported your card stolen and disputed those purchases. Then you should have broken up with her.
    via BestAd5844
  • 22
    SPINOISJE Been there. My ex-wife, as we found out during divorce proceedings, funneled approximately 12k in one year from our communal credit card to her private bank account.
    via SPINOISJE
  • 23
    I asked to see the receipts for what all this money was used for and was told it "was none of my business". Serves me right for being too trusting in marriage I guess.
    via SPINOISJE
  • 24
    OZFox42 Sounds like she's a manipulator, a user, and probably a gold digger too. Too cheap to pay her own way, so she operates with OPM (other people's money).
    via OZFox42
  • 25
    Delta-IX How hot was she?
    via Delta-IX

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Tags

details boyfriend taking advantage funding credit card gas relationship-drama online shopping cards girlfriend debt couples dollars without-permission purchases money delivery dating couple
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