I’m using a $500K inheritance for retirement and travel instead of paying off my kids’ student loans – am I being selfish?

As parents, we tend to be inclined to sacrifice everything for the sake of our kids. But sometimes, we have to put our own best interests first.

Such is the case for this Reddit poster. They recently inherited $500,000 and want to use that money for some travel as well as their own retirement. But their kids have other plans for that money.

The poster’s children are pressing them to use the money to help pay off their student debt. But that debt is the children’s fault.

The poster explains that their children all decided to go to expensive colleges. The poster paid for their books and gave them money for their meal plans, but tuition was on them. This was something they knew from the start and chose to attend expensive schools anyway.

The poster acknowledges that their youngest child took some community college classes to save money. The rest of their kids didn’t do much to lower their expenses.

Either way, all of the kids now have debt and aren’t happy about it. But that doesn’t have to be the poster’s problem.

It’s okay to be a little selfish

It would be one thing if the poster had promised their children help with college tuition only to take it back at the last minute. But that wasn’t the case.

The poster helped out with college to the best of their ability and explained that tuition would be their kids’ responsibility. Knowing that, they went out and pursued expensive degrees when they could’ve done more to save money. So they really shouldn’t be crying over the fact that they’re now stuck with student loans to pay off.

When I went to college, I knew I would have to cover much of it myself, so I chose the least expensive school I was accepted to. I worked hard, got decent grades, and managed to get a job despite not having a fancy college on my resume. And this poster’s children could’ve done the same.

Oh yeah – and I still had to take out student loans. But I paid them off instead of crying about it.

So I hope that the poster does not give into the pressure to use their inheritance to pay their kids’ loans. They have every right to use that money to secure their financial future in retirement. And if they want to use a portion of it to take a trip, why shouldn’t they?

Get help managing a windfall

The poster here clearly has a family situation to work through. But even aside from that, I think they should consider sitting down with a financial advisor.

The reality is that $500,000 is a lot of money. And it’s important for it to be managed wisely.

The poster doesn’t say how much experience they have investing money. But I’d hate to see their newfound wealth go to waste. So I’d encourage them to meet with a financial advisor for guidance.

And while they’re at it, an advisor could perhaps help the poster’s children come up with a plan to dig their way out of student debt. That way, maybe they can stop badgering their parent about giving up their inheritance.