Student squanders £58,000 college fund: blames parents

A student in America has blown an astonishing $90,000 given to her by her grandparents to fund her college years - unfortunately she still has a year to go. She phoned a radio show to complain about having to raise money to pay for her final year. Apparently it's all her parents' fault.

The 22-year-old student identified only as Kim, called The Bert Show on 102.9 Now in Dallas, stressed out because she only has a week to raise the £6,410 she needs to pay for her first term of her final year.

She rang a few times, and on further questioning she admitted she had been given a huge college fund, but had blown it on clothes and an 'educational' trip around Europe.

The radio hosts suggested she spoke to her parents, and she admitted she was angry with them for refusing to give her the extra cash - despite the fact that they were retired and living on a limited budget. She said they had suggested she go to a credit union for a loan and then get a job to pay for it, but that the thought of working her way through college was 'embarrassing.'

What's most bizarre about the whole exchange is that she actually blames her parents for her money problems - because they didn't teach her about budgeting.

Spoiled kids

For the many thousands of people working their way through university and paying off huge debts, this attitude is hard to fathom.

She's not the first student to overspend when given the responsibility for managing her own budget for the first time. However, the vast majority learn their lesson after their first term's money runs out early - and pick up some valuable life lessons about the consequences of overspending along the way.

It seems that Kim is struggling to pick up those life lessons after years of study. Perhaps even more bizarrely, at the age of 22, she still isn't taking responsibility for herself and her actions.

There will be plenty of people who rest safe in the knowledge that Kim is the exception to the rule - but there are a worrying number of these exceptions. A Reason-Rupe study in the US found that 71% of adults think that people aged 18-29 are selfish and entitled.

You could argue that this is just the irritation that older people have with younger people, but it's worth pointing out that the same survey found that 58% of younger people called themselves entitled and 70% admitted they were selfish.

But what do you think? Is Kim the exception or the rule? Let us know in the comments.

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