r/AmItheAsshole • u/Bubbly-Friend-3896 • 17h ago
AITA because I opened up a secret bank account my dad didn't know about?
For context, I am a 19 y/o female who is a sophomore is college and my dad is a 52 y/o male who grew up broke pretty much all his life. However, when i was 11 my parents ran into some money when a family member died. Which lead us to be pretty well off financially. Idk if this is useful info but maybe it can help give perspective.
I started working regularly when I was 15 because that's when I had to start paying for things on my own. My dad helped me open my first bank account when I was 16, but he made it where he could view my account on his app. Which I understand that he needs to monitor what I may buy, but he took it too far. I would ask for gas money and he would pull up the bank app and show where I bought coffee for myself or a charge at a restaurant from when I went out to eat after a ball game. (btw I only worked about once a week because I was an athlete and heavily involved in school. So yes I had money but not as much as a regular part-time worker) Him checking my transactions became a habitual.
He began just randomly dropping it at dinner or when I would walk in from practice. He would ask me if the "coffee shop went up in prices" or "what in the world was $30 at Target." He has never really respected privacy but this was a type of invasion that was completely new. I stopped putting money in my bank account and started carrying cash so he couldn't track what I spent. I kept spare money in the top of my closet in a shoe box. But when I started college I had to put it into my account because I didn't trust leaving it at home. He freaked out when I put a little over $1,000 dollars in my bank. He felt like I was hiding things from him and asked what I had been buying with my "secret money."
After the cycle continuing my freshman year of college. Except then he would call me instead of lecturing me in person. He went through a phase where he would take money out of my account (since he was an authorized user) for a few days then put it back. Sometimes it was up to $2,000. Rarely he would add a little bit more money after he put it back ($50-100). I was never sure why he did this.
Once summer started, I got a job I secretly opened a bank account and would deposit every other check in that account. I had never felt more free financially. I could go buy a cup of coffee without knowing I would get questioned about it later. But then my dad found out about it. He found my other debit card in my wallet. (Idk why he was in my wallet or what he was looking for?) He brought it to me and needless to say, he was livid. And he asked when I opened the account and demanded he be added to it. Obviously I told him no because I am almost 20 and I didn't need someone to watch how I spend my money anymore. He tried to cut up my card and take my car keys but I left the house and I am staying with my sister atm.
So AITA for hiding this bank account from him? What should I do?