Mom takes credit card from 21-year-old daughter and runs up $1300 balance, gives it to a friend without her knowledge: 'On my card due date, my mom sends me $250 which is not even half of the money she spent'

Stealing is stealing, no matter how close you are. 

It is incredibly difficult to mix money and family. It happens all the time, but it's a combination that we haven't quite figured out how to navigate. There is no easy, one-size-fits-all solution; there are only ways to better communicate. You know this if you've ever gotten into a money argument with one of your family members. Maybe you're tired of sharing the financial burden with a family member. Maybe you're constantly being hit up for money, and you want to draw a line in the sand. Maybe you're just starting to make it on your own, and you need a little space from everyone else. Whatever your struggle is, you know that it's on you to enforce your own boundaries. Nobody is going to come along and do it for you. 

Lending money to a family member can be a slippery slope. Sure, you might want to help them out from time to time, but you also have to protect your own interests. You don't want to end up in a situation where you're having to have an awkward conversation with someone you love because they owe you money. If you can avoid this reality at all, you should avoid it at all costs. But you don't get a choice about the family you're born into, and sometimes you just have to play the hand that you were dealt. That's what the young woman in this story tried to do.