The Barefoot Investor urged the couple to focus on saving for retirement, rather than succumbing to their monster daughter and paying for her college tuition.
Scott Pape, 46, shared the advice after his mother, Patti, wrote to him saying that he and his partner had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their child.
The letter, titled “Have We Raised a Monster?” The Daily Telegraph.
“My teenage daughter attends private school and my husband and I (average working class people) spend over $40,000 a year on her education,” Patty wrote.
The mother added that the couple had saved “hard” to pay off the mortgage on their “modest” house and were happy to be able to provide a private education for their only child.
The couple were looking forward to their daughter finishing high school this year and not having to pay “exorbitant tuition fees” when she attends a local college.
But the couple’s daughter put a damper on their retirement plans.
“She wants to attend college in another city, at a residential college that would cost $40,000 a year, to get the ‘full experience of city life,'” she wrote.
Patty said she commutes into the city every day for work, but her daughter claims it’s “too far away” for her to attend college in the city.
One mother asked Scott if it was reasonable for her and her husband to not want to help their daughter go to college when they were paying $40,000 a year in private school tuition (pictured is a stock photo of a classroom).
Scott Pape (pictured) didn’t mince words, saying his 18-year-old daughter would have to go to college in the city if she insisted on going, but at her own expense.
“She is anxious to get out of the house and says she plans to move to the city with or without our help,” she wrote.
“She has no idea how to be financially independent! Is this the behavior of a ‘normal’ privileged teenager, or have we raised a monster?”
Pape pulled no punches and replied, “You raised a monster.”
The financial expert further explained that the couple have already spent a lot of money on their daughter’s education and now it’s their turn.
“Explain that you have already spent over $500,000 (before taxes) on your daughter’s education and that you must now focus on saving for retirement,” he wrote.
The Barefoot Investor thought it would be a great learning opportunity for his daughter to leave home and experience life.
“That experience should include working a minimum wage job, drinking alcohol every now and then, and eating two-minute noodles to make ends meet,” he wrote.
After spending $500,000 pre-tax on his daughter’s education, the Barefoot Investor said it was time to start saving for retirement (pictured is a stock photo of a middle-aged couple looking at their finances)
Financial experts say this is a chance for her daughter to gain financial independence, with the added benefit of giving her more self-confidence. (Stock photo of college students on campus)
He urged parents to give their daughters a chance to become financially independent and become better people.
“Not only will I encourage her to move to the city, but I’ll also help her pack,” he joked.
“The education she receives will make her a more well-rounded person. (And if she doesn’t make it, she can always go to a local college!)”
Patty’s question comes at a time when private school tuition fees have risen dramatically, putting many parents at a disadvantage.
In New South Wales, tuition fees are rising faster than inflation, with fees at top Sydney schools increasing by up to three times over the past 25 years.
In 1999, annual tuition fees at Kambala Girls’ School were just under $10,400; by 2024, this will rise to $46,950, an astounding 352% increase.
