A 50-year-old Mom on Reddit emptied her daughter's college fund to keep her Mali...

A 50-year-old woman claims she inherited seven figures when her husband passed away, but ended up squandering the funds on ill-fated investments with her money manager — including a beautiful Malibu home by the beach.

With just around $35,000 of the inheritance left and multiple debts to take care of, she decided to liquidate her 16-year-old daughter’s college fund to cover some of the mortgage bills, posting her story on Reddit’s Am I The A-hole (AITA) forum.

“[My daughter] was furious and said she cannot believe all her dad's work is gone. [She also] said she won't be supporting me for retirement,” writes the mother, who goes by Throwawayveal-9 on Reddit.

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Plenty of the subreddit commenters held the mother responsible for making poor financial choices and hurting her child’s future in the process.

Here are five tips to avoid putting yourself in the same boat to secure a comfortable retirement.

1. Talk to a certified financial professional

You can skip this step if you feel confident enough to tackle your finances on your own — but if you’ve got limited knowledge and experience with handling money (like the aforementioned Reddit mom), it doesn’t hurt to speak to an expert.

Just make sure you do your research first. Don’t be fooled by the first so-called “financial advisor” or “money manager” you meet and check their credentials and reviews to make sure they’re legit. You can even ask for references from previous clients.

It’s important to understand how they get paid as well. A fee-only adviser will earn a flat rate or percentage of the assets they manage, whereas a commission-based adviser is more incentivized to get you to spend money and may recommend certain products or services that are more beneficial for them than they are for you.