It’s never a problem to help less fortunate people, but…

If they are only pretending to be struggling, then that’s a different story.

This woman once helped a local mom buy Christmas gifts for her kids multiple times.

But when she found out that she wasn’t really struggling, she decided to stop helping her.

Read the full story below to find out more.

AITA for refusing to help a “mom in need”?

Two years ago, a struggling mom reached out on a local Facebook group.

She was asking for someone to help her buy Christmas gifts for her daughter.

I answered her plea and helped her out.

This woman helped the struggling mom again.

The next year, she had welcomed a second child and had to quit her job to care for her sick mother.

She had apparently sold a car, so she and her husband could make ends meet.

I helped again.

After the second Christmas, she sent me a thank you and a friend request, and I accepted.

She learned that the mom’s lifestyle involved designer shopping hauls and expensive coffee drinks.

Her profile was full of TikTok posts that detailed her life as a novice influencer.

There were so many videos of her doing designer shopping hauls, displaying expensive nails, and trying out expensive coffee shops.

So basically, she was struggling because of this.

I posted something on Reddit before about this, and people advised me how to proceed.

The mom reached out to her again, so she told her she wouldn’t be helping her this year.

Two weeks ago, she reached out to me again and asked if I could once more help her buy Christmas gifts for her two kids.

I didn’t answer right away, but I didn’t want to ghost her or anything, so I responded.

I told her, as advised, that I wouldn’t be helping her this year.

I told her politely that “it is clear to me that your inability to afford Christmas gifts for your girls stems from irresponsible financial decisions.

Not being down on your luck like you’ve claimed”.

She apologized to her and gave her shopping advice, but the mom didn’t take it very well.

I apologized and advised her to go shopping at some of the cheaper places I do my shopping at, like Ross, Marshalls, and Burlington.

She blew up at me for being so insulting.

She called me a jerk for shaming her when she’s trying to make a living for her kids by becoming an influencer.

She shamed me on the local Facebook group where she originally reached out for help two years ago.

She posted my name and a snapshot of my Facebook profile on there.

She threw in some other accusations that I was a cruel person.

Some people were saying she should have just helped the mom.

I haven’t responded to that yet because I don’t know if it’s better to not say anything or to defend myself and expose her.

I don’t think I’m the jerk here.

But some people have said I should have just helped her out again.

Because I have a stable job and she’s just a young mom.

I disagree. Did I handle it appropriately? AITA?

Let’s check out the comments of other people on this story.

This user shares their personal thoughts.

This one makes a valid point.

Here’s similar advice from this person.

She’s selfish and self-centered, says this one.

Finally, a short and quick suggestion.

Helping is great, but even Santa has a budget.

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.