AS children, its only understand to look to one’s parents for guidance and financial support.
But what happens if your parents are not financially literate and instead cause grief to the kids?
An anonymous woman took to Muflis Bankrupt di Malaysia Facebook page to lament about her spendthrift father who has a habit of spending beyond his means.
The 22-year-old woman who is the eldest of her four siblings shared that her father, 55 works as a civil servant and has debts amounting to over RM800,000.
“His salary is RM6,000 but I do not know where it goes,” the university student lamented.
She explained that her mother passed away in July and she had to resort to use the money from her mother’s EPF to purchase groceries, even though, the money was supposed to be allocation for her education and for her siblings.
According to her, when her mother was still around, the mother had to use her EPF funds for the family’s expenses.
She shared that she previously had a part-time job as her PTPTN loan was insufficient and her father would rarely give her money.
However, she is no without a job as her father has now disallowed her from working.
Thankfully she has a brother who is already working and often helps to pay the household bills. However due to his rather small paycheck, he is unable to save a single cent.
She then wondered how would her future turn out once she graduates and gets a job and what would happen to the debt if her father were to pass away.
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“I don’t mind helping out here and there, but it feels like I will have to take on a lot. I feel sorry for my brother, who also has to support the family.
“My biggest worry is, what if my father passes away? What will happen to all the debt?” questioned the woman.
To make matters worse, the woman shared that her father has shown no intentions to change, even reducing his debt to take on more loans.
She also clarified that she had tried to bring up with her father but this only made him angry.
“Is anyone else in a similar situation to mine? What should I do?” questioned the woman.
Her post has since garnered a lot of attention from netizens who sympathised with her heartbreaking situation.
“The most important thing is to never be your father’s guarantor. His debt is his responsibility to settle. If your father passes away, the bank will look for the guarantor, not just simply go after the heirs. His debt is not inherited. Focus on your studies properly,” advised @Aminah Mohamed.
Some also shared that they were in a similar boat and advised her to put herself first and built her career.
“Your situation is the same as mine. They call it the ‘sandwich generation.’ But I made the biggest decision, and I think I won’t regret it. After I graduated and got a job, I immediately moved out and lived on my own. Yep, at first, I was also thinking about my siblings’ situation. But what else could I do? I need to build my own life too. How long should I bear the consequences of someone else’s mistakes? Harden your heart. Turn a deaf ear, close your eyes. Push through. You’re not alone in this,” commented @Aiz Turner.
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