I’m a multimillionaire and when my family visits i rent an apartment to pretend that’s where i live
It all started when I went to study abroad and after graduating i landed a job. The first thing i did after getting accepted was call my mom.
The first thing she asked was “how much are they paying you?”. I shouldve known then but i was too young i don’t blame myself. I told her my salary…
My parents automatically thought i was now “rich” and their behavior changed.
For once, they insisted i treat them with my first paycheck and pay for them to visit me. I naively did, and they didnt spend one cent for the whole month they “visited” me. Looking back at it they didnt care much about me, they just wanted a free vacation and made me their tour guide/atm/etc…
This became a pattern, where they expected me to regularly pay for them to “visit”, they started telling other family members that they should visit me and that i’ll take care of them.
When i visit back home, they’d expect me to bring them lots of gifts and pay everytime we went out… They even started telling me that i should contribute and pay for my siblings’ uni tuitions.
Funny thing when i was still a student i worked 2 jobs to support myself, and they barely texted/called me. When i got that job, i’d suddenly wake up to good morning texts and they’d call regularly lol.
I slowly started realizing how toxic these people were and that i should draw some boundaries. So i slowly stopped calling/texting, i stopped updating them about my life, etc… i decided they didn’t deserve to know me.
When the pandemic hit i was just starting my business and working from home gave me more time to focus on it. Gradually my business became more lucrative until i was able to quit my job.
I kept reinvesting in my business then i started investing in other businesses. During this time i told my family i lost my job and i was struggling. They immediately stopped reaching out and unless i called i never heard from them.
Fast forward today, i am so blessed and grateful to be financially at ease. To protect myself, i told my family i found a job but it doesnt pay much and the cost of living is high.
Now when they visit, they pay for their own flights, and they don’t go out much lol. I also rent a small apartment and tell them that’s where i live (i actually live in a penthouse). I use public transport with them, idc if it takes 2 buses and 2 trains unless they wanna pay for a cab that’s what we’re doing.
I keep 2 suitcases packed with all my old clothes and i keep 3 boxes with all my usual dinnerware, books, etc. When i know they’re visiting i tell my assistant to find an apartment in x neighborhood and put my old stuff there. I tell them i changed apartments and i rent furnished ones cause they’re cheaper. So far they absolutely have no clue.
Now i still like my family and i don’t want to completely cut them off, i like having them around and it’s fun for me too. Nobody knows about this and it’s not like i can share this with people i know in real life.
Right now i’m writing this while sleeping on the floor of my living room in my “apartment”, my bedroom and couch are taken by family members. I will never tell them and they will always know me as that poor family member struggling abroad.