Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Would you tolerate DP spending £7k on World Cup trip?

704 replies

Rigaboni · 06/12/2025 18:26

DP declared he is travelling to the World Cup and will be staying in Boston for 10 nights, to watch two games. He will miss DDs 2nd birthday. It will cost £4k for flights and hotels, perhaps around £2k spending money and maybe around £1k for tickets.

We have separate finances, I earn a bit more. We pay a percentage of our salary in to a joint account to cover joint bills.

How would you feel about this?

YABU = it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and you can always earn more money
YANBU = I wouldn’t tolerate him treating himself to a £7k solo holiday

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
AnEnglishCircedee · 23/12/2025 23:09

Oh . Thats not financially astute of him them . Yes I would be annoyed but then I’d As long as the debt is his name only to pay off ,his credit card only . And I was going without because of it .

kkloo · 14/12/2025 10:17

DearDenimEagle · 13/12/2025 18:20

They have joint bills account. They have otherwise separate finances, says the OP.
He is not married, so he is single. You want the perks of marriage, get married. Being a partner does not confer the same rights as a wife/ husband. And I’m saying that as someone who had a DP.
Choosing to have a child, even living with a DP instead of a DH carries risks and fewer legal protections. That’s fact. You can pretend it’s the same if you want, but when the chips are down, the reality hits.

His life, his money, his choice …wrong choice in my view but he has no legal obligation, and many are good at ignoring moral obligation.

Still doesn't mean he's single.
And not sure why you're bringing rights and legal protections into this because married or unmarried he could still make the choice to go on the trip and there's nothing the OP can do to stop him.

Tiswa · 14/12/2025 09:07

I have been getting emails from FIFA about tickets since May and seen all the ways they have been trying to sell tickets including a right to buy

some fans have already spent 1000-2000 on a right to buy a final ticket IF the team the supports gets there. A right off of not. given all the slots for France Argentina Brazil Spain England and Germany were slots quite a lot will lose that money

FIFA coupled with the way the US sells sporting tickets no way for me. Will wait until the Euros (UEFA run it better)

that said saw England Slovakia play and it was for 20 mins or so England Netherlands and bought in StubHub and the tickets were £250-300 when it was Netherlands so dropped right down to £120 for Slovakia so that is not without the same issue either

so many tickets were sold before the groups were announced (common policy it must be said) so this round of applying is I think the 3rd and that is what people don’t realise

Doingtheboxerbeat · 14/12/2025 08:47

godmum56 · 13/12/2025 19:57

have people been following the cost of ticket announcements?

People can't be arsed to even read the OP updates or the other posters pov, all explaining how he is putting all this shit on a credit card before posting "its his money and she won't remember her 2nd birthday", so I strongly doubt it .

godmum56 · 13/12/2025 19:57

have people been following the cost of ticket announcements?

Ilovelifeverymuch · 13/12/2025 19:44

Doubledenim305 · 07/12/2025 18:51

Just read full thread... apologies. Changed my mind. He can't afford it. He's not spending his money, he's borrowing money that will impact on family. He's taking the poo poo 💩.

Haha I love the elegant way you phrased "he's taking the poo poo 💩" 😂

DearDenimEagle · 13/12/2025 18:33

Bruisername · 09/12/2025 08:37

How is he single? Just because they’re not married? A up until the point the marriage certificate is signed both parties are single and have no responsibility to each other?

if the responsibilities are the same, why bother getting married? He owes financial support for the child of course, and the bills as agreed, while he lives there, but he is not obliged to spend his separate money on what she wants.

DearDenimEagle · 13/12/2025 18:20

sittingonabeach · 09/12/2025 08:10

@DearDenimEagle he’s not single. He has a partner and they have joint savings (or would have if he hadn’t spent them on football) And he is a dad.

They have joint bills account. They have otherwise separate finances, says the OP.
He is not married, so he is single. You want the perks of marriage, get married. Being a partner does not confer the same rights as a wife/ husband. And I’m saying that as someone who had a DP.
Choosing to have a child, even living with a DP instead of a DH carries risks and fewer legal protections. That’s fact. You can pretend it’s the same if you want, but when the chips are down, the reality hits.

His life, his money, his choice …wrong choice in my view but he has no legal obligation, and many are good at ignoring moral obligation.

Namechangerage · 11/12/2025 07:17

Rigaboni · 07/12/2025 11:59

Sorry I probably wasn’t clear in my previous replies. He has booked flights and accommodation already

That would be unforgivable to me.

ThePoetsWife · 11/12/2025 07:02

I would be reassessing our future together - he is not a team player and there will more of this selfish entitled behaviour from this man child

CharlotteCChapel · 10/12/2025 21:54

For those saying she should get an equal holiday, she can't because he's mucked up the family finances.

I'm always astounded how much people will pay for football. We went on an all inclusive holiday to Antigua for 14 days and went to 2 cricket matches with top of the range tickets and transfers included at it cost less than that for both of us.

sittingonabeach · 10/12/2025 21:14

@AnEnglishCircedee more like debt not money

AnEnglishCircedee · 10/12/2025 20:59

Let him go . Once in a lifetime trip . His money . Age 2 birthday Dd is ok they don’t know what’s going on . Make sure he makes it up to you treats you to something special.

Instructions · 10/12/2025 13:04

With truly separate finances I would just think he was being a bit of a wasteful dick but leave him to it.

I might reassess how compatible we were though, and I would definitely make clear to him that I would not cover a single penny of any financial demands he couldn't meet if he found that dropping that much money on this trip left him short.

lilkitten · 10/12/2025 12:59

If you have separate finances, I wouldn't have a problem with my DP spending on what he likes. If it's really that he's missing the birthday that's more the issue, that's different. If you're not keen on him spending his spare money, it might be better to discuss joining finances. We joined our finances when our first child was born, and will separate them again once the kids are adults.

godmum56 · 10/12/2025 11:33

CheeseIsMyIdol · 09/12/2025 12:45

They’re not married?!

I’m suspecting that the “joint goals” aren’t as joint as OP thinks they are.

this.

Bluefloor · 10/12/2025 10:23

I would not be happy, I don’t think whether you have joint finances or not is relevant. You’re a family, he’s not a single man.

Bruisername · 09/12/2025 22:27

It’s just a way to be reductive towards unmarried mothers

regardless of his marital status, he has a mortgage and he has a child and he shouldn’t be getting himself into a position where he is putting these in financial jeopardy

thank goodness they’re not married or OP could be saddled with his debt in the future

YouHaveAnArse · 09/12/2025 22:16

CheeseIsMyIdol · 09/12/2025 12:45

They’re not married?!

I’m suspecting that the “joint goals” aren’t as joint as OP thinks they are.

Loads of parents aren't married, it's 2025.

It would be cheaper and easier to get divorced than to negotiate dividing a shared property or custody of a child when you split up, so it baffles me that people see it as a lesser commitment. And I say this as someone who is married.

Cariadm · 09/12/2025 19:20

FlyingCatGirl · 08/12/2025 06:03

America is an absolute rip off now and everytime he goes out to eat and has a few drinks he'll spend a fortune when they add all the tax and huge compulsory tips on and he's going to sit there paying those prices for 10 days for the sake of two games of football! Crazy!

Yes in retrospect and when I thought about it and then realised that it was for 10 days I did reconsider that maybe 2K wasn't as outlandish as I first thought! 🙄
The more I think about it overall the worse it seems and 'crazy' is just one of the many adjectives that could be applied to his frankly thoughtless decision and seemingly casual assumption that it was OK for him to do this, even worse if he booked the flights and accommodation before telling the OP then he was supposedly doing it as a 'fait accompli' so he had to go ahead with it or potentially lose that money?! 😡
If the OP has feelings for this sadly stereotypical manchild she will obviously be conflicted by his actions but if it was me it would be serious 'food for thought' on our future together...😥🤔

CheeseIsMyIdol · 09/12/2025 12:45

They’re not married?!

I’m suspecting that the “joint goals” aren’t as joint as OP thinks they are.

Bruisername · 09/12/2025 08:37

How is he single? Just because they’re not married? A up until the point the marriage certificate is signed both parties are single and have no responsibility to each other?

sittingonabeach · 09/12/2025 08:10

@DearDenimEagle he’s not single. He has a partner and they have joint savings (or would have if he hadn’t spent them on football) And he is a dad.

DearDenimEagle · 09/12/2025 08:06

Doubledenim305 · 08/12/2025 20:31

Exactly. He's acting like he's single

He is single. He’s a DP not a DH and separate finances. His money, his life, his choice.

KaleQueen · 08/12/2025 22:30

Just tell him in your best Mrs Doyle voice “oh it’s just a load of men kicking a ball, would you not just have a cup of tea instead?”
Saves him £7k, saves you the stress.
(aware this will be lost on anyone who hasn’t ever watched Father Ted. And if you haven’t, you should)