Once I got into my degree, my father stopped supporting me financially for my studies. He told me to join a garments factory and quit studying. But as I was a merit student, my college staff were very supportive of me and agreed to let me pay the fees once I started working. Fast forward to 3 years later, I finished my graduation with debts and started working as a designer in a boutique. During those days, I used to give all of my salary to my parents.
But a year ago, I wanted to start my own boutique. By God’s grace, I was sanctioned a loan of 7 lakhs for the business. My father asked me for 2 lakhs for some reason, and I gave it to him. After that, he wanted 1 lakh again, which I arranged through one of my friends as a loan, but he stopped paying interest after 3 months. Six months ago, my father forced me again to give him 2.5 lakhs as there was a shortage of funds for my sister’s marriage. I took a loan from a financier and gave it to him.
Presently, I have a lot of responsibilities, including my education loan, business loan, and the loan I took from the financier for my father amounting to almost 15 lakhs. Without anyone’s support, I am paying it all by myself. I am currently struggling with my business, even to pay the rent for the shop. Also, the two people from whom I borrowed money are demanding repayment as soon as possible. My father is not taking any responsibility; he is not even paying the interest.
Tired of all this, I applied for a 3.5 Lakhs personal loan to clear all these debts and to pay both interest and principal to the bank. But my father is demanding me to re apply for more money. He needs 4 to 5 lakhs to clear all his debts. I am literally not in a position to help this time. For almost 4 years, my mother and I have been giving him money, paying off his interest and debts totaling almost 10 lakhs. Even though he is a working person, we have not seen him paying for any utilities or the debts he took.
My father’s consistent demands for money, lack of accountability for his own debts, and emotional blackmail (saying he would commit suicide) are taking a toll on my mental health. I want to stick to my decision regarding the personal loan. I plan to take a personal loan of 3.5 lakhs to clear the debts taken in my name and to fund my father’s surgery, as it is a responsible one.
Question:
So, am I a bad daughter for not paying off the debts of my father, which happened because of his mismanagement of money?
Option 1: Yes
Option 2: No