Back in high school, I had a friend who never kept any of the promises she made, and when I asked about them, she used to smirk and say, “Promises are made to be broken”. Now when I think about it, although the promises were about something stupid, her breaking them was quite hurtful.
In today’s story, the original poster (OP) promised to match the money his son earned and buy him a car. But after the son got $35k, he wondered if he should break the promise as it wasn’t right for a teen to drive a $70K car, and sought advice online.
More info: Reddit
The poster's son had $5K savings when he was 16, so the parents promised to match the amount he earned till graduation and buy him a car
Image credits: Derwin Edwards (not the actual photo)
They thought he'd earn around $10K and they would buy him a $20K car, but he bought smart stock options and earned a whopping $35K
Image credits: ThrowRA29329192
Image credits: senivpetro (not the actual photo)
The couple didn't want to break their promise but they also felt that an 18-year-old driving a $70K car was a bad idea
Image credits: ThrowRA29329192
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
Caught in confusion about whether to break the promise or face their son's resentment, the father sought advice online
Image credits: ThrowRA29329192
The poster updated that they've asked their son's girlfriend to talk him out of it as they feel it's a waste of money
In today’s story, Reddit user ThrowRA29329192 expressed the dilemma he was stuck in. When his son was 16, he had $5000 in savings. So, the poster and his wife promised him that they would match the amount of his savings to buy him a car at graduation. Little did they know what they were getting into!
They felt that he would earn around $10,000 total and they would buy him a $20,000 car. But the son invested in stock options and earned a total of (drumroll please!) $35,000. Woah! Even the couple was shocked as now they had to match it and buy him a $70,000 car.
Now, the teen was insisting that his parents follow through with their promise, and since he also secured a merit scholarship, the parents were at a crossroads. They really wanted to keep the promise but also felt that a teen driving a $70k car just wasn’t right. Rather, the poster felt that he understood why his son wanted it but also thought that it was a waste of money.
Probably consumed by this confusion, the poster vented online and asked people for their advice. He also added later that their son was really close to his girlfriend and listened to her. So, the couple had asked her to talk him out of it and she had said that she would.
The Redditors showered the poster with multiple pieces of advice with which the couple could make a way through the promise. Most folks agreed with the poster that the money he earned was out of gambling, not something he worked hard for, and they frowned upon such easy money.
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Research shows that 63% of Americans who are in college have already invested in the stock market. That’s quite a high number and it looks like the poster’s son is one of them. But his parents were not really happy with the way he got the money as they felt he was just lucky.
And OP’s argument that it was a waste of money in a car was backed by many netizens. They felt that there was frankly no need for a teenager to get an expensive car. They also stressed the fact that he wouldn’t even know the true value of something so expensive.
According to research, “Consumerism or materialism, referring to conspicuous consumption or beliefs that goods are a means to happiness generally or personally, has been highlighted as one of today's ‘social evils’ and as detrimental to health and well-being.”
Many people also pointed this out that when kids are given expensive things at a young age, it’s not really good for their well-being. These people were of the opinion that it was better for the poster to face his son’s resentment after breaking the promise rather than just letting him have the expensive car.
However, others commented that breaking the promise would really hurt him. Rather, they advised the couple to keep the promise and give him the $35k, but only let him use some of it in the car while telling him to keep the other for future expenses. It would be like keeping the promise but not really encouraging the expensive purchase.
Picture yourself in OP’s shoes, what would you have done in this situation? Just type away your thoughts in the comments below!
Even folks online felt that spending so much money on a car for an 18-year-old was just too much, they advised the parents to find a way through the promise
