For a lot of young people living at home, especially those whose families are going through rough financial situations, contributing to the family expenses is the norm.

But there are some times where this contribution goes past helping out, and turns into parents turning their kids into just another form of income for them to use.

So when this user’s nephews confided that their unemployed Mother was demanding every cent they made, she helped them get away from her financial abuse.

Was she wrong to help them escape her mother’s manipulation? Decide for yourself!

AITA for helping my nephews runaway?

My twin nephews (18m) live in another state with their mother and her boyfriend (not their father).

We all lived together (boyfriend excluded) when the boys were first born, and I was very close to them before they moved away.

I didn’t see them again until they were 13, when they spent a summer with me and my family. It took some adjustment, but soon it was like I had two new sons.

When the summer ended, one returned to their mother, while the other, citing behavioral issues at home, stayed with me.

Soon OP’s sister demanded her son come own, despite his own desire to stay with OP…

He had some challenges but adjusted well and became a really great and kind kid (still is).

After about a year, his mother wanted him back, but he strongly preferred to stay.

I discussed it with my sister, but she was against the idea.

The next time OP saw them, she realized the boys were being seriously exploited by her sister…

Five years later, the boys are now young men. Although I haven’t seen them during this time, we easily reconnect when we meet.

We joke, talk, and they share updates on their lives with me. During a recent conversation, they confided in me (asking me not to tell my sister what they said).

They revealed that they both have jobs and their mother and her boyfriend convinced them to hand over their debit cards under the pretense of “saving their money.”

Both my sister and her boyfriend are unemployed and have been using the boys’ income to support themselves, and spent every dime the boys have earned (~5k).

The boys want to leave, and I advise them to wait until they finish high school.

But when things took a turn for the worse with her nephews, OP had to step in…

That was the plan until a few days ago when one of the boys argued with my sister and threatened to cancel his card.

To which she threatened to kick him out, and he called me, asking for help. I promised him a bus ticket to my state if she followed through on her threat.

Last night, both boys called me and said they wanted to leave. True to my word, I bought them bus tickets.

My sister called me today, furious that I hadn’t informed her about any of this. AITA?

Sounds like OP’s sister is just mad that her main cash flow is gone! Good for OP for giving her nephews a place safe from their mother’s financial manipulation!

Reddit assured OP she was only helping her nephews escape the financial abuse they were suffering.

Many hoped that the nephews had finished high school, and gave OP some advice for if they hadn’t.

A lot of user pointed out that the nephews were 18, and could make their own decisions about their living and financial situations.

Finally, this user said that her sister was a financial abuser who was taking advantage of her own children for monetary gain, and had no leg to stand on to get them back.

What is she more mad about, losing her sons or losing her incomes?

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.