<prompt> Human: I am a 19 year old college student that goes to a small polytechnic state school for an engineering degree. My parents have told me that they will pay for my college education, housing, and other expenses until I graduate. I am thankful for this, but now I am worried that they dont actually have the means to do so, and I might be in a situation where I would need to take loans or learn how to be financially independent. Ive been reading the guides for my age range in the sidebar, but I feel I might have a more complicated situation than what it addresses.I apologize for the long post; please bear with me as I try to explain.My dad is physically abusive and aggressive, and controlling about a lot of things, such as what we spend money on and where we go outside. For many years throughout high school, I reported incidents to the police and CPS, and begged my mom to divorce my dad. Nothing good came from any of my attempts, as my mom bailed my dad out from jail when he was arrested once for abuse, and refused to press charges. My mom is actually the sole breadwinner in the family, as a doctor. My dad used to be an engineer, but he quit a decade ago, claiming ill health, and decided to become a manager for my moms practice instead. He has what seems like full control of our familys money. He refuses to share with my mom how much we have in our accounts, and my mom isnt making any effort to find out where we are financially when I urge her to. I think my dad might be mentally unsound in some way, because he has grand ideas about entrepreneurship, and has put thousands of dollars into his own business making silicon chips, but doesnt tell us anything about his business when we ask, and its clear hes made no progress in earning. Hes tried to start a winery, I see him watching the stock markets constantly, and hes spent thousands of dollars over the years hoarding junk which he thinks are expensive antiques. Now hes trying to start a dairy farm and booking flights to the east coast for it. I am completely in the dark about where we are with the familys money. My dad says hell pay for my college education, but he becomes angry when I ask for anything that costs money, like a laptop for school. He ultimately buys things I need, but acts as if we have nothing and Im wrong for asking. And when I ask my mom about whether they can truly pay for my education or I need a job to help pay, she becomes anxious, and vaguely says shell just work more to make ends meet. Im afraid that my dad is going to waste all of the money my mom has earned and leave my family destitute. But there is nothing I can do about this, because despite all of my efforts to find legal help and other resources, my mom refuses to take any legal action or stand up for herself. I think I might just need to become financially independent. The problem is, I only have a debit card, with one checking account with 800 left in it from a previous job. I dont have a car, and I dont have a drivers license yet. My parents have paid for housing on campus for me to live in and my tuition for this semester. As far as I can tell, they will support me in the near future, but I dont know how long they can keep it up. What should I do? Should I trust them, or should I start taking action now? What should I do? Im so sorry if these are vague questions, I just feel helpless and I dont know where to start.Assistant: Unfortunately theres not much you can do since its not your money thats being handled this way. I will say that your dad might be trying to start a business but its probably a futile effort especially if hes trying to make any kind of chip whether it be a processor or like a MEMS just because equipment and materials are prohibitively expensive but theres still nothing you can really do about it. The best thing you can do is study hard, get good grades, become friends with your professors, get internships, etc. Then get a good job for yourself when you graduate.Human: I understand that I cant really do anything about their finances. But should I get myself a credit card or open a savings account? Or should I get a job? Should I look into getting college loans, in the case they reveal later they cant pay for my education anymore?  <response>: A job and a savings account sounds like a much better decision than credit cards and loans.There are horror stories all over this sub about credit card debt and student loans.Focus on making and saving money rather than going into debt. 