Money can make family relationships complicated in unexpected ways. In this story, a couple makes a decision to fake being poor to avoid family members constantly asking for money. What started as a small lie to keep their inheritance private has now turned into a full-on act. Now, things are getting harder to hide, and our reader doesn’t know what to do.

Here’s the full story

My husband and I have been pretending to be poor, and it’s actually working out really well. We started this whole thing because my family treats anyone who has money like a walking ATM.

A few years ago, we received a decent inheritance, and almost instantly, family members started hinting that we should share it and help everyone out. We decided that the only way to avoid all these money requests was to act like we were struggling.

It started with small things and turned into a full-on act. We said we couldn’t afford to go out to dinner or pay the bills. My family believed it and they feel bad for us. They give us clothes, canned food, and even money.

Once, my mom saw me driving a new car. She froze, then slowly approached and asked where I got the money for it. I said it was a rental for a work event. She didn’t seem convinced, and that’s when I realized our act was starting to get harder to maintain.

Should we tell them the truth or keep pretending?