From the sounds of it, it might be very likely that his father is not the curmudgeon that he appears, but is in fact attempting to teach his son a very valuable lesson, one that will allow him to avoid the perils that his mother faces.
My Father could afford to pay for me to go to Princeton, in cash, on a yearly basis.
It has nothing to do with debt management.
I am extremely frugal, and as said elsewhere, I'll be going to a community college I found. I am paying the tuition in cash. That isn't something someone with poor finance skills can do.
