Money has the power to tear even the closest of families apart. When we consent to others paying our way, we are in essence relinquishing control over certain aspects of our lives.
Recently, one son sent the online community into a tailspin after announcing he wouldn't be inviting his own mother to his wedding after she refused to gift him a large cash sum. The fallout of which has left people feeling divided.
Pardon my cheese, but true love is when two souls find their counterparts in one another. A wedding is a glorious moment, filled with laughter, celebration, and the occasional Chicken Dance. Most importantly, it's an entire day dedicated to celebrating YOU and the one you love.
Anyone who has ever gotten married or is currently engaged understands that weddings can also be immensely stressful — especially if certain family members take issue with the person you choose to be your soul mate.
The son begins by saying how this May he plans on marrying the love of his life. Unfortunately, his mother isn't the biggest fan of his bride-to-be.
More specifically, the mother doesn't like that her son's fiancée has roughly 80K worth of student debt to her name. Unlike her future husband, the bride-to-be didn't come from an affluent family and was forced to take out loans to pay for school.
The son also made sure to point out that his father is paying for the wedding. "When my sister got married my dad paid for the wedding, and my mom gave her a cash gift," he explained.
The son's other sister is getting married this September, and their mother promised her the same dollar amount. She also informed her son that unlike his two sisters — he and his new wife would not be getting a cash gift.
When the son confronted his mother about this, she assured him that it had nothing to do with disliking his fiancée. Rather, it had everything to do with her student loans.
On the other hand, if she were to give her son a cash gift, she feared it would go toward paying off his fiancée's student loans — a fact which he doesn't deny.
"I didn't say much at the time, but I thought long and hard and decided I don't want her at the wedding," the son proclaimed. "She doesn't like my fiancée. She doesn't care about my future as much as my sisters. She is playing favorites with her kids."
"You can invite or disinvite whoever you like for whatever arbitrary reason you chose, but do so knowing that in this case[sic] you have no real argument against everyone thinking you're wrong," Redditor GojuSuzi argued.
"She’s blatantly playing favorites," came the counterargument from chooch57. "She won’t be giving OP a gift. There are other ways she could gift OP equally to her other kids without paying off the fiancée's student loans."
This is the danger of letting family punch your meal ticket. Money is power, so be careful who you give it to.
