I'm 17 years old, off to college in the fall, and recently found out that my parents have been gambling secretly when I thought they were just staying late at work (they have a small business together and are always busy). I found an envelope going through the mail a month ago with a casino bill - my dad and mom's losses combined, this totaled to $200,000. I have no idea how I'm going to afford college in the fall. My parents have made it a point to keep their financial situation private from me, but I've always known we've had financial problems so I've had 1-2 jobs at a time since high school started, and I'm pretty sure the 200k is more than they make in a year. Student loans plus university grants I've been offered cover about 75% of my tuition, but my parents are putting off filing taxes (I'm guessing to cover up gambling debts??) so I will probably end up getting even less money for college. I don't know how to confront my parents because to be honest they started their own business when I was in first grade so we're hardly close, but I've been stressing out so much over this.
Is it an option for me to become financially independent when I turn 18 and take up another job to pay for college by myself (I think I would not qualify for FAFSA in this case), or should I just see how things go? Will I lose the grants/loans if the 200k is factored in?
If any of you have advice or insights about how to talk to my parents about this I would appreciate that very much too. They avoid talking about finances except to borrow money from me. My parents are good people, I promise, they're just doing so much and get stressed a lot.
Is it an option for me to become financially independent when I turn 18 and take up another job to pay for college by myself (I think I would not qualify for FAFSA in this case), or should I just see how things go? Will I lose the grants/loans if the 200k is factored in?
If any of you have advice or insights about how to talk to my parents about this I would appreciate that very much too. They avoid talking about finances except to borrow money from me. My parents are good people, I promise, they're just doing so much and get stressed a lot.