Am I the jerk? I stole about 70k from my parents over the past year. My parents live in another state

from me, but left a large amount of cash in a hidden location back here in our home state.

I had access to the stash ever since they left. About a year ago, I lost my job and had been

struggling to find new work in my area that pays enough to keep my bills in order. I got a

little desperate and took what I needed from the pile to make ends meet. To make long story short,

I kept going back as temptation was too hard to resist. The money was spent on mostly rent,

food, and random expenses, and occasionally fun things like a video game. For the most part,

just living. It's been a year now and I've taken a noticeable amount and I'm starting to really

feel the guilt and weight of my actions. My parents collectively make about 300k yearly and have been

doing so for some time now, so they aren't strapped for cash. It was essentially an emergency fund

I've been exploiting, but now I worry that when they inevitably discover that their money is gone,

they'll press charges and send me to prison. I'm a newlywed and I don't think I could give up my

spouse and go to jail. The thought depresses me to the point where I think I'd rather pass on.

I genuinely don't know how my parents will react when they find out what I've done. It's terrifying

me. I love my parents very much and the thought of this being brought to light breaks my heart. There

is a good chance that they won't find out for another year or two at most. Part of me wants to

enjoy what time I have left of them being oblivious and the other part of me wants to get it over with

and confess what I've done. Overall, I feel super crappy, but now there is no way I can repay them

at this point. The most money I've made in my life is $18 an hour and that barely pays for my

cost of living. Let alone pain back this debt. I have stopped taking from the stash and I am applying

like crazy to get a new job before what little cash I have runs out. I already know I'm a crappy

person, but it does feel slightly better to talk about this finally. Thanks for listening.

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