John and Mary were concerned about their daughter Susan. Susan has been out of rehab for over 1 year and has been working as a veterinarian assistant making decent money when she is able to get the hours. Susan’s relationship with her parents was strained, so it was decided that it would be best if Susan lived away from home. John and Mary had been supporting Susan and were concerned that she was unable to save any money.
They called me for help.
Susan and I began to work on a budget. I was amazed at how little Susan knew about the cost of items and her financial literacy was low.
One day I received a call from Mary in a panic. Knowing what I knew, what could possibly be an emergency? Turns out Susan was dating a gentleman from her AA meeting and Mary just found out that Susan was pregnant. Mary wanted to know if as part of my services, I would be persuading Susan to terminate her pregnancy.
“My responsibility is to Susan. I will help her assess her preparedness for bringing a new life into the world, but I will not, nor should you be providing any opinions on what to do about her pregnancy.”
Working together, Susan began to understand the enormous obligations associated with raising a child, what level of support her boyfriend would be providing (hint: very little), and how she mistreated her parents. Susan also realized that she wanted her unborn child to have a good life and that she wanted her parents to be a part of her new family’s life.
Susan was able to confront her boyfriend and secure a commitment, prepare a budget, and respectfully ask her parents for financial assistance. John and Mary were so impressed with her grasp of her pending finances and professional plans for herself that they set up a trust to make sure that their grandchild would be properly taken care of and keep their financial support away from Susan’s boyfriend.
I am happy to report that Mary, John, Susan, and baby Madelline are doing well.