Parents spend $30K of their daughter's college savings on a kitchen renovation because she decided to take a year off college: 'I told her she could attend community college.'

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Aug 31, 2026 11:45 AM EDT

Why would they make it so much harder for her to go back to school?

If your parents paid for your college education, you should consider yourself lucky. A lot of young people feel forced to take out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans because they want a degree, and their parents can't afford to foot the bill. Even if they don't take out loans, some of them have to live at home for the duration of their college experience, which makes it so much more difficult to be a socially engaged student. Kids whose parents pay for college have a much better time during those four years than kids who worry they won't be able to pay their bills.

If you saved money for your kid to go to college, you might be pretty disappointed if your kid decides not to go to college. After all, saving $30K is not easy for most people, and you don't want that money to go to waste. Sure, you could roll that money into an IRA for your kid, so they have some money for retirement, but doing that when they're 18 might be a little premature. Just because someone says they don't want to go to college when they're 19 doesn't mean they won't want to go when they are 22. If I were a parent of a recent high school graduate who "doesn't want to go to college," I would hold off on spending that money unless I was 100% sure they wouldn't go to college. They might need that money to attend trade school or another type of education that doesn't fit the traditional 4-year college experience. There's no harm in keeping the door open for your kid to attend college. In fact, there's harm in doing the opposite.

The dad in this story could not wait to spend his daughter's college tuition money on a kitchen renovation. She dropped out of school, worked for a year, and decided to go back, but the money was already gone by that time. Now her dad is wondering if he made the wrong decision.

via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

A kitchen in the midst of a renovation
_{Stock photography for depiction only.}
Am I wrong for spending my daughter's tuition money?
Our daughter is 20 and recently decided to go back to college after taking a year off.
A few months ago, she dropped out because she said college wasn’t for her. Despite our advice, she moved in with her boyfriend and started working at his family’s restaurant.
There was still over $30,000 in an account I had saved specifically for her tuition. My wife and I had wanted to remodel our kitchen, so we decided to use that money for the renovation.
via Aaron Huber

A renovated kitchen that set this family back $30K
_{Representative only.}
Before she left, our daughter asked if she could have the money. We said no and told her it was strictly for college. We also warned her that if she chose to leave college, we would use the money for something else. She said she understood.
Now things didn’t work out with her boyfriend, and she didn’t like the jobs she found afterward. So she decided to return to college.
She was shocked when she found out we had spent the money.
via Vitaly Gariev

A young woman, who was shocked to discover that her parents spent her college fund on a kitchen renovation without telling her beforehand.
_{Model portrayal.}
She said she thought we were bluffing and expected us to pay for her college because we’re still paying for her younger brother’s tuition.
I told her she could work part-time, attend community college, or live at home rent-free while she saves money for school.
via Zoshua Colah

A community college campus
_{Stock photo unrelated.}
She’s angry and has been ignoring her mother’s calls.
My wife thinks we should still help, but we’re nearing retirement and already behind on our savings.
I feel like we warned her and gave her alternatives.
Am I wrong?