17-year-old asks her late father's childhood friend to fund her college education despite not talking to him for 7 years: 'I’m currently putting 3 of my kids through college right now, 2 of them in medical school'

He gave her a firm no, but she didn't push the matter.

There's a lot of social stigma around asking people for money, and for good reasons. Nobody is entitled to anyone else's money, even if that person would gladly and freely give their money away. It can come off as entitled to ask your aunt, whom you barely talk to, for money, especially if you've made no other effort to form a relationship with her outside of that question.

There is a time and a place where asking a family member or friend for money is more socially appropriate. Young couples often ask their parents or in-laws for money for a wedding or a down payment on their first house. Their parents might not agree to give them the money, but it's not like it's a totally out-of-line question, unless the parents are worse off financially than their children.

The main thing about asking anyone for money is that you cannot expect them to agree to give it to you. As long as you can accept a "no" with dignity and respect, asking the question is probably not going to ruin your relationship.

01

via Jordan Ulmer

_{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}
Advertisement
But what if you ask someone for money you don't have a relationship with? That will almost certainly guarantee that you won't have a relationship in the future, and that's probably what will happen between this teenage girl and her late father's longtime friend. She came to him with ulterior motives aside from merely connecting.
02
Am I the bad guy for not giving my late friend’s daughter a college fund?

via u/Glittering-Aside8149
03

via u/Glittering-Aside8149
04

via u/Glittering-Aside8149
Advertisement
05

via Li Guan

_{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}
06

via u/Glittering-Aside8149
07

via u/Glittering-Aside8149
Advertisement
08

via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

_{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}
09

via u/Brownie-0109
10

via u/Acruss_
Advertisement
11

via u/Acruss_
12

via u/Ok-Crow-2713
13

via u/Enamoure
Advertisement
14

via u/Money-Possibility606
15

via u/Money-Possibility606
16

via u/PsiBlaze
Advertisement
17

via u/Atlantic_Nikita
18

via u/NefariousnessSweet70
19

via u/AwareProfit9591
Advertisement
20

via u/dookle14
21

via u/dookle14
22

via u/New-Waltz-2854
Advertisement
23

via u/Street-Leather-6932
24

via u/Street-Leather-6932