<prompt> Human: Hey,Ill be turning 18 in the fall. I make 15-20 per hour, and work full-time right now. During tax season, my dads employer messed up the withholding, so my parents were short about 5k for the bill. They do have the money, but its in 401ks and other funds and they didnt want to pay back the capital gains tax so they took the 5k out of my account. I had 6k in it at the time, I made 12k last year and put 5500 in my Roth IRA. Up until last week, my parents had paid 4k of the amount they owed me. My dad was on a business trip and the airline lost his suitcase, so he had to buy new clothes et caetera. Although the amount has since been paid back by the airline, my mom took 6k more out of my account to prevent them from going under with the credit card bill for the month. She also used some of the money to buy airfare and other stuff for her 20th anniversary trip. Right now, they owe me 7k total. Im kinda ambiguous on this second case. The first time, I was able to shrug it off, I guess, since I do like helping my parents out. Now that its not used for other stuff, Im not sure if I can get behind letting my parents borrow my money without asking first. I dont doubt that Ill be paid back eventually. My dad makes 120k a year, and hes taking a new job that pays 160k, on top of his 60k government pension. We drive older cars that were bought used, our house is mostly paid off according to their financial planner, its actually advantageous to put money in investments rather than towards the mortgage, and they did pay forth most of the previous debt in just a couple months. This also seems to be pretty common in my extended family as well same situations with my mom and her parents when she was younger. Ive found a way to bring it up to most family members in one way or another, which cant hurt. I would be stupid to run away the minute I turn 18, since were in a very high COL area and I would have great difficulty making ends meet, even with a roommate. Plus, my dads job will pay 25k per year towards my college education, which should mean that Ill get a very good deal when combined with my anticipated national merit scholarship. Im really torn on what to do in this case. I know Ill be maxing out my Roth IRA this year, but, beyond that, should I just put the rest of my money into another Vanguard index fund? Also, if anyones been in a similar situation before, Id love to get another perspective. Assistant: Your parents are living beyond their means and the likelihood of being paid back is low.You should inquire at local banks about opening an account in your name alone and starting the process of separating your finances from theirs. You should also have sincere talks about college financing and what they will and wont pay towards college costs. Dont accept hand waving or dont worry about it as answers. If they dont have the money to contribute to college expenses you may need to choose an inexpensive option, and you need to know that.Human: I dont think that they are living beyond their means, I have no idea where the money would go. We dont live frugally, but we dont get cable, dont pay car loans, dont participate in pyramid schemes, and my parents have in the past, Im talking like a year ago been pretty transparent about the family finances. Unless theres something ridiculously expensive thats sucking all the money away that I have no idea about, but thats a much bigger issue.  <response>: Its very unlikely that theyre telling you everything. And simply put, being short 7k on an income of 120k is a lot. Thats a lot short. And coming up short multiple times, again, a danger sign.Doesnt matter. Its not really your business, except for you to take precautions against their money management. 