17-year-old forced by mother and stepfather to spend his inheritance on his step-siblings: 'The money is a lot. Like I could [easily] be debt-free going to college […] My mom knew about the money but can not access it.'

It's immensely hard to get ahead. Especially at this current point in time where it's impossible for younger generations to get ahead thanks to wages that haven't kept up with inflation for over 30 years, amid other factors like the rising cost of living that makes scraping by all the more difficult. But when you're barely earning enough to survive as it is, let alone begin to think about saving, a windfall of cash can be an absolute game changer. Unfortunately, money doesn't grow on trees, and that windfall usually comes with some horrific cost. Usually, for most of us, a windfall of cash only comes in exchange for some catastrophic life event in the form of something like an insurance payout, or losing someone close to you.

I know some people who have been immensely helped at a young age by the passing of their parents, grandparents, or guardians. But, of course, it comes at that aforementioned cost and unfathomable loss.

This teen had to endure the untimely demise of two close relatives at a very young age, which left him with more money than most young men could ever dream of to set him up for his future. Unfortunately, when his mother and stepfather came to realize that he wasn't going to use the money for college, choosing instead to go into a trade, they thought they'd claim the money for themselves, pressuring the young man into giving them the money for his step-siblings.