Sometimes, making sacrifices—be it time, money, or anything else—is not something a person is willing to do, no matter how much they love the one in need.
For this redditor, it was their sister, who needed financial help due to a long and complicated custody battle. And even though the OP’s parents were giving nearly all their money away, the redditor wasn’t willing to go into debt or cancel their long-awaited vacation, for that matter, to support their sister. Scroll down for the full story below.
Handling personal finances can be complicated enough as it is, not to mention when someone you love needs financial help
This person was chastised by their family for not canceling their vacation and giving their money to their sister
Image credits: mstandret / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Wavebreakmedia / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Prostock-studio / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: throwaway_19524
Many people believe that family members are at least somewhat responsible for helping those of their kin financially
Image credits: Pressmaster / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
When one is in need of help, it’s often family members who rush to the rescue first, making siblings no exception. However, people’s views on how much one should actually help those of their kin and what exactly said help should entail tends to differ.
A 2023 survey carried out by Pew Research Center found that both parents and children are expected to help other family members, be it financially or providing assistance in other shapes and forms. For example, roughly two-thirds of respondents believe that adult children should have a great deal or a fair amount of responsibility to provide caregiving for an elderly parent. More than half (55%) of them also believe that adult children should provide their elderly parents with financial aid, too.
However, the survey revealed that many people think that parents should help their children, too, as should siblings. As much as 31% of respondents say the former should have a great deal or a fair amount of responsibility to provide financial assistance to their adult children (while 44% think they should have some and 25% saying they have no such responsibility). When it comes to siblings, 24% of respondents believe people should have a great deal or a fair amount of responsibility to help their brothers and sisters financially (vs 41% who say they are only somewhat responsible and 34% saying they have no such responsibility).
Clearly, opinions on the matter differ not only among members of the OP’s family. Data shows that they vary not only on personal views, but on people’s age, too; older individuals are more likely to say that it’s a child’s responsibility to provide aid for their elderly parent. In the meantime, younger people are more inclined than their older counterparts to say that parents should save up money to hand down to their children after their death.
The majority of money-related sibling conflicts seem to revolve around their parents
Image credits: Prostock-studio / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
While family members arguing over money-related issues sounds like a tale as old as the world itself, the number of siblings who do might not be as high as you think. According to Ameriprise’s Family Wealth Checkup study from 2017, roughly 15% of brothers and sisters have conflicts over money.
The most common reasons for said conflicts are reportedly related to parents; they entail issues regarding how their inheritance is divided, which sibling supports them more, or which receives more support from them. Other money-related disputes between siblings revolve around different money values and spending habits, varying levels of income, and issues regarding repaying money respectively.
It’s unclear if the OP was fearful of their sister not repaying the money if they were to cancel the vacation and lend it to her; chances are, the family expected the redditor to give their money away expecting nothing in return altogether. No matter the case, the OP was not willing to cancel something they had been waiting for for so long, and they stood their ground, which netizens in the comments seemed to be supportive of.
Fellow netizens shared their thoughts in the comments
