'I'm planning to use my kid's Xmas gift money'

“I do feel really guilty… I don’t have a choice, really."

A woman is debating whether to use money gifted to her children to ease her post-Christmas financial strain. 

“I do feel really guilty… I don’t have a choice really,” the mother admitted. 

Typically, she deposits her children’s gift money into her account before transferring it to their savings. 

However, this time, she’s considering holding onto the funds for a few weeks to get by until her next payday.

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"Not the first"

“Should I? Or is this just horrible?” she asked.

Her alternative is using a credit card, something she’s reluctant to do.

“I’m not great with credit cards,” she confessed.

Taking to a parenting forum, she shared her financial difficulties and explained her dilemma. 

Many forum members didn’t see an issue with her plan, provided she committed to repaying the money. 

“Give yourself a hard deadline for repayment and don't let it slide - otherwise it'll always be 'oh, I'll do it next month' and you'll have stolen their money,” one parent advised. 

“Go for it. I'm sure they'll benefit from it anyway,” a second person wrote. 

A third said: “You're not the first and definitely won't be the last.”

Image: iStock

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"They won't get the money back"

However, some criticised the idea and raised potential issues.

“What if they wanted to use it in January? You'd have to tell them what you'd done then,” suggested a comment. 

“They won’t get the money back if you do this. There will always be another reason,” another wrote. 

The woman said she’s never had to consider borrowing from her children before, but times are tough.

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Despite that she admits she is leaning toward getting by with the use of a credit card, but she’s apprehensive. 

"I just don’t really like using them as it’s so easy to spend large amounts once you start," she explained. 

"When I’ve got $200 in my account that’s it, but with the credit card I could potentially spend hundreds!" 

Originally published as 'I'm planning to use my kid's Xmas gift money'