Mom Pressures 17-Year-Old Daughter to Give Her College Scholarship Stipend to Her so She Can Pay For Household Expenses

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jun 16, 2026 8:30 PM EDT

Her mom is a real piece of work. 

It's hard to stand idly by and watch someone get away with antisocial behavior. It's not always easy to catch a thief or any other kind of petty criminal in the act. If your wallet is stolen, all you can do is cancel your credit cards and hope they don't figure out your debit card PIN. Most police departments aren't too concerned with catching the guy who stole your bike, because that's a lot of hard work, and objectively less important than finding other kinds of criminals. They'd have to check security footage, track down the guy, and find the lost bicycle, and in the grand scheme of crimes, that's usually not their priority unless you live in a sleepy town with the kind of dedicated police force you only see on TV. All cyclists can do is put more than one lock on their bikes and hope it doesn't get snatched up.

We like to think of thieving as something strangers do randomly, but that's not always true. A lot of the time, the people closest to us are the ones who steal from us, and it takes us a lot longer to notice because we trust them. I would not expect my friends to steal magnets from my fridge when I host a house party, and yet it has happened! It's important to be vigilant with your belongings and your bank accounts. You can't allow just anyone unfettered access to them. Sometimes, your own mother can't even be trusted. 

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  • 01
    A young woman who has received a stipend for her University education but is worried that her mother will spend the money on household expenses
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A model representing a young woman who has received a stipend for her University education but is worried that her mother will spend the money on household expenses. 

  • 02

    Am I the bad guy for refusing to give my college scholarship stipend to my mom?

    I (17F, turning 18 in college) recently achieved a major milestone-I got awarded a full-ride scholarship to a top university in the Philippines (100% free
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 03
    tuition + 8,000 monthly stipend). Instead of being happy as it's my dream school, I am filled with anxiety because of my mom.
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 04
    Background: back in high school, I was also a scholar and received a monthly stipend of $2,500. The problem is, the moment that money hit my mom's digital
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 05
    wallet account, it was micromanaged and completely gone. She used it to pay for household expenses (internet, utilities, streaming subscriptions,
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 06
    etc.). Whenever I asked for school supplies, she would tell me she didn't have the money and that my stipend "wasn't even enough to cover the house anyway." Because
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 07
    of this, I spent my entire 12th-grade begging for a scientific calculator and graduated without one, despite asking both of my parents daily.
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 08
    Cheezburger Image 10639643904
    via Alexey Demidov

    A scientific calculator, which the young girl in this story asked her parents to buy for her, to no avail.

  • 09
    Double Standard: here's where it comes in, my older brother is also a scholar. However, my mom lets him keep 100% of his stipend for his own savings and school needs.
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 10
    When I asked for a tablet for school, she said we had no money. Yet, she turned around and asked my dad (separated, he works overseas) to send extra money specifically
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    to buy my brother a brand-new laptop and tablet. I once spent a small portion of my own high school stipend on school
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    supplies (I started buying my own since 10th grade because I tutor kids-in which she also gets money from my profit) without telling her beforehand, and she blew
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    up at me. She insists on calculating exactly how to spend my money on the household first, promising I can have the "remainder"--but there is never anything left.
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 14
    Now that I am starting college, my stipend is bumping up to $8,000 a month. I am terrified she is going to confiscate all of it for the house again. My mom is a public
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    school teacher. While I know her salary is tight, I believe both of my parents have terrible financial management skills (d n, my father suffers from a gambling
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    addiction, how's that!). My mom openly admitted she just expected us to study for free. Well, I did my part―l secured the full ride.
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
  • 17
    COLLEGE OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES
    via Ezekiel Santos

    A representation of a University that gave the girl in this story all the resources she needed to succeed in school, as long as it didn't get stolen by her mother. 

  • 18
    I will be turning 18 before college starts so I want to exercise my legal rights to take complete control of my finances-open a bank account strictly in my name, and have the
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    university deposit my stipend there directly. I don't want to give her a single cent of it because I worked hard for this privilege so I wouldn't have to beg her for basic
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    academic necessities anymore. TL;DR: My mom thinks I'm being selfish and ungrateful. AITA for
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187
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    wanting to cut her off from my scholarship money?
    via u/ImaginaryLime5187

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stealing brother stipend household philippines sister daughter mom money
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