Money isn’t everything, but it can help you with a lot. Unfortunately, it can also reveal who amongst your inner circle or proximity is actually a greedy opportunist.
A Reddit thread asked people what happened after they suddenly came into some money. Needless to say, money can make people get desperate.
Here are some stories that stand out.
10. The Lucky Chip
And scary drive home.
“I once took second in a poker tournament and won $150k. There was an audience of about 200 people when it finished. Common practice was ppl ask winners for a “lucky chip”. I was almost mobbed by people begging for lucky chips as I left the casino. Had to be escorted by security and paid a friend $300 to follow me in their car and we drove all over town for two hours to make sure nobody was following me home.”—TLKim
9. The 1/4 Inheritance
Still pretty substantial!
“My Grandma died a week before Christmas, and she left her house and 1/4 of her small fortune to me (the rest of the money went to my brother and my two cousins). My uncles and aunts have been a pain in my back ever since. Claiming that the money/house are theirs,etc. And I’ve also been approached by people who I haven’t seen or talked in a while. Even my Ex who dumped me for some douchebag rugby player, started talking to me again and inviting me to places, and she’s still dating the same guy. Anyway, I’m not naive enough to lend those people money or befriend even. Luckily I have good friends and my brother as advisors.”—DannyMorrow29
8. He Walked Out…
…And with good reason.
“So a few years out of college my girlfriend and I were living in a sort of large communal apartment with 5 other people (2 bedrooms, 2 couches in the common area). I had just gotten a significant promotion at my job and that situation was exceptionally below my means, but my GF was convinced that these were her people and they were all going to become great philosophy writers and poets by living together and sharing experiences. They were all unemployed or underemployed, and experienced moochers, so I was very careful not to let them know I was saving large sums of money with the intent of moving out soon and taking my GF with me (or not…)
One day the other couple had an argument about rent and to try and keep them from coming to blows my GF promised them that I’d cover it for them and showed them one of my paystubs which I guess they showed everyone else. I got home from work and walked right into an “apartment meeting” ambush, where everyone else informed me that they wanted me to contribute “more meaningfully” and they’d put it to a vote before I got back. I told them that I was already paying for their food that they kept guilting my GF into buying for them, topping up the apartment emergency fund instead of stealing from it like the rest of them, and many other things and that I wasn’t going to cover other people’s rent as well.
The next day when I was at work, someone went into my room and destroyed my laptop, which was the only thing of value I owned at the time. I collected the few things I wanted to take, told my GF I was breaking up with her, and walked out.
Edit: I just realized I’m effectively the bad guy from Rent. Well, Rent sucks.
Edit 2: Thanks for the interest and support everyone.”—ThadisJones
7. Not Everyone Is a Jerk
As this post proves.
“Not exactly horror story, but I’ve always made more money than most of my friends. Some of them would hit me up for cash, but usually I only agreed to small amounts or said no. I did however have a very close friend who I really enjoyed the time we spent, but we liked to drink, so bars were are go to hangout. I usually ended up paying for the entire night, to the point where he said he wasn’t comfortable hanging out because he never had the money. But, I genuinely did like just hanging and he always, ALWAYS bought the first round. That’s respect.”—dogthatbrokethezebra
6. This Is Bad
This is really bad!
“My mom has this ugly football themed van. Every since I was 10 we would go around in circles about how “it will be mine one day” but I told her from the start I’ll pass I hate vans… And football. Bought a different car and the van broke down after she put over 300k miles on it. I get my first income tax which was almost 3k and she tries to sell me the van for 2k…i tell her NO and she drops it to 1,000 since I can “easily afford it” I still refuse and less than an hour later she sends me a picture of a 1,200.00 dog for sale with “this is what I want for my birthday. He’s in Kentucky I’ll send you the address”
She wanted to use MY money to get a dog and was hoping to be sneaky and trick me into buying a broken ugly van to fund her multi state trip to pick up her “dream dog”… She didn’t speak to me for months after and still tries to sell me that POS for more than it was worth when it ran.”—Mephistopheles_Cania
5. This Person Might Never See the Money Back
But at least they tried to do good.
“Got a 7k settlement from a car accident. I accidentally left the check on the corner table in the living room. My dad walks into my bedroom and asks if I can lend my mom any money. I work minimum wage retail and ask him how much does she need. He says how about half of that 7k check.
It has been almost 8 years. I haven’t seen any of that money back.”—ftmech
4. Well, at Least This Kinda Worked Out…
But some relatives can be extremely selfish.
“When my grandmother died, her will stipulated that everything was to be split 3 ways. A third to my mother, a third to my uncle, and a third to be split evenly between my sister and I.
My uncle wanted to sell my grandmother’s house immediately to get more money out of it, but I wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons. My parents gave me a bit of money, and I used all my inheritance to buy out my uncle’s share of the house. I paid my parents back over the next few years, but the property became much more valuable. Over the following 10 years while I lived in the house, property values in my city exploded. The house that I bought was also in a very desirable neighbourhood and was worth well over double what I paid for it. It has continued to climb. When I paid out my uncle’s share, the estimated value was around $300,000. Last year the neighbour’s house (almost identical) sold for 945,000.
Needless to say, my uncle has said multiple times that when I sell the house, he is legally entitled to more money out of it. That is Bullshit, he is not getting another penny from me. I plan to live here for many more years. He will be long dead by the time I sell.”—smoffatt34920
3. Some People Never Act in Kind
This Redditor’s family truly went through a lot.
“Before the recession hit, my dad had a pretty lucrative small business and we lived comfortable middle class lives. He would often lend his family money since most of his sisters didn’t amount to much in their lives. They would never pay him back. And often hassle him to give them money since he was so well off.
After the recession hit, we took a big dive and still were able to live ok but had to sell a lot, no more insurance, and basically lived paycheck to paycheck while my dad worked 7 days a week to make ends meet.
After all he’s done over the years not one of them would help when we needed it. One of my uncles has even been even more well off with a car dealership, and refused to aid my father with a loan, even though my father always pays his debts regardless of if others do the same (none of his sisters have ever repaid a cent of his generosity).
I have a lot of terrible stories about them through the years, and finally he’s cut them all out of his life after almost losing my mom through divorce last year (partly bc of his horrid family and how they treated her) and nearly drinking himself to death the past three years.
They are truly terrible, greedy people and it’s all taught me a lot about the kind of person I want to be and who I want to surround myself with.”—Cannoliii
2. In the End, It Didn’t Matter.
This story’s ending isn’t that great.
“My uncle would have been classified as working poor. A job, a wife, a kid, an apartment, but living paycheck to paycheck. They won the little lotto, and with another winner, my uncle got like 200K. They walked away from the apartment, bought the largest house in the poorest neighborhood and their friends always seemed to need something. I remember as a kid, they often had friends living in the guest room. They bought 2 new cheap cars, and then come property tax time, they were broke, and once again working poor.”—somedude456
1. Stealing from a Child?!
What’s worse, this Redditor had good intentions for their money.
“Not technically begging, but still a horror story in my opinion.
When I was around the age of 5, I had a job. Of course, my mom helped out tremendously and got me involved in this career platform but it took a lot of time and effort on both of our parts so we quite the profit from it. All the money was deposited under my name though, so I could use it once I turned 18.
Didn’t know this until I actually turned 18, but a trusted family member who knew my account information went into my account and took a good portion of money. It was pretty fucked up realizing that someone who had already done some pretty fucked up shit to me during my life also felt comfortable enough basically stealing money from a child.
Still upsets me to this day because I wish that money could’ve gone to my mom. She deserved it more than anyone.
EDIT:for those wondering what job I had at age 5, I was in the acting and modeling industry.”—upperslide8
It’s amazing how low some people will stoop once they find out a friend or loved one got their hands on some extra cash. What did you think of some of these unethical actions? Your opinion is totally valued in this here space, regardless of your income or social class!
