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Should I lend my DH £13,000

429 replies

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 20:27

My DH and I have been together for 19 years. I had a good professional job when we met and I gave up said job after having children. I was then a sahm for 8 years while DH worked full time. During this time DH completely held the household purse strings as he was the one earning money.
Fast forward a few years and I got a minimum wage type part time job. By this time DH was earning £80,000 a year.
We have always had separate finances. He has been responsible for the main bills and I have paid council tax, water and sky.
We are married but the house is in his name.

I had a bereavement and have been left £87,000. I used a small amount to pay off a couple of credit cards i had but have left the majority in a savings account.

As I have a low paying job this money is a huge amount to me and i dont think I'll have this kind of lump sum in my account again.
Now to the question. DH has asked me to lend him 3.5k to pay his tax bill with the intent that he will get a bonus next month and he can pay me back. I am happy to do this. But he has now asked me to lend him £8.5k for a new triathlon pushbike. To me this is money we could spend on the house, a fantastic holiday for our family etc.
I have no doubt that he will pay me back - hes not the type to rip me off but it doesnt sit right with me. I couldn't spend this kind of money on a bike when we need a carpet upstairs etc. If i dont lend it to him he is hinting he will get a loan.
What do you think?
My Mum told me on her death bed not to let him have my money . They never got on.
Sorry for long post.

OP posts:
MysteryBelle · 27/01/2023 21:44

ChristianAidy · 27/01/2023 21:35

Yet another thread about money. If you are married, everything is shared. He hasn't shared everything, so he clearly doesn't understand what marriage is about. That being the case, I'd take my inheritance and my children and leave.

This 100%.

Goldpaw · 27/01/2023 21:46

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 20:36

Yes he was tight. We had a 'copper jar' which he would put his change into. If I dipped into it for bus fare then he said i was a thief.

Well absolutely fucking no way in that case! He can buy his own bike! And sort his own taxes!

Dashel · 27/01/2023 21:47

DH has always earned more than me, but we have equal say in everything from holidays to houses. If either of us was a bit short in a month we transfer some to each other. In fact one time I withdrew £50 in cash but somehow forgot to pick it up from the cash point and I met him 5 minutes later really annoyed so he withdrew £50 so I wasn’t upset.

We both check with each other before spending much and financially we are a team. You and your husband don’t seem to be. The bike is ridiculous so I’m guessing it’s not the only expensive luxury item he has. Does he generally have better things than you and the dc? Him deciding on holidays would really fuck me off along with accusing you of being a thief.

Keep the money safe. It doesn’t sound like he would lend you anything. Without telling him, speak to a solicitor and really think if you want to stay married. This money might give you options and I would certainly keep it as a fuck off fund. I think you will be pressured by him to spend it quickly though, I would also see if you can increase your hours and income so if you do leave it will be easier.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

BitOutOfPractice · 27/01/2023 21:47

DisforDarkChocolate · 27/01/2023 21:02

My thoughts but less sweaty.

Sweaty? I can assure I’m as fresh as a summer meadow 😬

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

LookingOldTheseDays · 27/01/2023 21:43

OP - right now, with £87k in the bank, not locked away yet, this is the easiest it will ever be to leave him.

You have the money to sort a deposit on a rental while the divorce goes through, furnishings, legal fees, moving costs etc.

Do it. For your kids and you.

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

OP posts:
Jadviga · 27/01/2023 21:48

Dear god. He sounds awful. Do not lend or give him ANY money at all - he didn't /wouldn't give you anything when you had no money of your own.

And as others have advised, I'd seriously consider divorce.

ArcaneWireless · 27/01/2023 21:49

Your mam threw you a lifeline OP.

Grab it.

LookingOldTheseDays · 27/01/2023 21:49

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

No!

It's about building the future you need and deserve. This is about the entire rest of your life. Divorce will involve paying lawyers, yes. But staying with this man will cost you and your children's future happiness.

Quartz2208 · 27/01/2023 21:49

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

Get legal advice house in his name - since you were together?

Blossomtoes · 27/01/2023 21:49

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

It’s not frittering it away. It’s buying freedom from a financial abuser.

Mulhollandmagoo · 27/01/2023 21:50

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 20:36

Yes he was tight. We had a 'copper jar' which he would put his change into. If I dipped into it for bus fare then he said i was a thief.

Oh man, use your 87k to get the hell outta there!

LookingOldTheseDays · 27/01/2023 21:50

And after a 19year marriage, and as the primary carer, you will be entitled to a good split of assets.

GettingItOutThere · 27/01/2023 21:50

with your updates no i would not - and remind him why not with how tight he is when you needed money the most!! wow hes awful

Get a job when you can/health allows and use the money for a deposit on a house ? or can you do that now?

i dont know legally how it works with an inheritence, would he be entitled to half if you divorced? i hope not. 8.5k on a bike is mental

Jadviga · 27/01/2023 21:51

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

It's an investment.

When the house is sold you may have enough capital to buy (a smaller house) with minimal mortgage.

The alternative is staying with him, and he'll keep needing to "borrow" x money until it's all gone (and always finding a good reason why he can't pay it back). Either way the money will be gone. Use it to leave him.

Guiltycat · 27/01/2023 21:51

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

With the 87k, the child support payments, and half the value of the house you currently live in you should be able to get a mortgage for a house for yourself and dc op.

Don’t leave out any details of the financial abuse you’ve suffered when you see the solicitor.

IDontWantToBeAPie · 27/01/2023 21:52

No fuck him. It's your money and clearly he wasn't generous when you were raising his children.

He earns £80k he should have big savings at this point

Emmamoo89 · 27/01/2023 21:52

Nope

Pumpmonkey · 27/01/2023 21:52

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 21:47

I wonder if this is wasting my inheritance. pating for rent etc. Frittering it away .

If this was my daughter and I’d left her the money in my will then I’d be delighted that this was what you were doing to gain your freedom. You are being financially abused.
I left a similar man with nothing in my bank account. You have a great start to a new life in yous.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/01/2023 21:53

Some of your situation reminds me of mine and DH's situation, OP. Most doesn't. I'll describe:

DH is by FAR the bigger earner. Always did very very irregular hours but before kids this didn't matter too much and the salary difference wasn't as much. Date night plans often went awry at the last minute cos of his hours but it was more a pain than anything else. He paid ALL the mortgage from his account (but the mortgage we were both named on and joint owners on the house), we split all the other bills with a joint "bills" account (including food) and holidays we split equally too.

After kids his hours were problematic so we agreed that I would be a SAHP for a few years. We swapped our joint "bills" account to a joint "savings" account which only he paid into (a small amount each month, for household emergencies), and immediately, DH took on ALL the bills from his current account. He gave me a card for his main current account so that I was a joint account holder and told me to spend what was needed on it. So all thefamily shopping that I did came out of his account (via my card on it). He didn't want me asking him for money that would be spent on us as a family when I had given up my job to stay at home to care for our children. He recognised that his job impeded my ability to earn while they were little.

All I spent on my own separate current account was clothes and haircuts for myself (we agreed that the child benefit would be paid to my account but that I would just use that for my own haircuts etc and to buy birthday presents/day to day spend/some of children's costs, because in effect that money for the children would be coming out of "his" account anyway).

I slowly increased my working hours but have never earned much compared to him. We got an extension on our house so added to our mortgage and I paid the additional amount while he carried on paying the main amount on his own. He STILL pays ALL the bills. I pay for all our family holidays, my car and petrol, and most of the kids' expenses (and my own stuff).

I came into a large inheritance and have kept it in my own separate accounts but have paid off our joint mortgage and a lot will be spent on the kids uni costs and deposits towards first house etc. I gave DH money towards a car and will again when it needs replacing. Gave, not lent.. There is some left for our retirement, and what is left I see as "ours". So it could allow him to retire a year or two earlier, for example, as I will cover expenses. Because he covered most of ours all these years.

Do you see the differences? Yes, we have had our own separate accounts at times for practicalities/savings purposes but mainly we have viewed everything as joint. Because we are married. We are a team. We both recognised the value that the other brought to the family, even if it was non-monetary. We share expenses even if at times it has seemed one-sided. And we trust one another not to spend on fripperies, without consulting the other. We discuss what is fair when it comes to spending. He was generous when I had nothing, and I will be generous when he will have minimal if he wants to retire early.

Give and take. I can't be doing with all this separating of spending and separate accounts and "lending"" money that I hear some married couples talking about. I'm afraid your financial arrangements would not have been for me, OP, and I would have been long gone.

Hollyhead · 27/01/2023 21:54

Well as you’re married actually 43.5k of it is his, just as 40k per year of his earning is yours. No such thing as separate finances in a marriage.

Robinni · 27/01/2023 21:54

No no no, do not let him have your money.

Yes he paid the bills - FOR HIMSELF

The house isn’t in your name. You’ve removed yourself from a good profession and taken time out to raise the children. Meanwhile he has progressed, has all the assets and is sweet for pension. And now he wants your money too.

Grow your backbone fast, listen to your Mum and say no.

Say you’ve been thinking you might like to invest, start a business or do something meaningful with the money. Don’t want to rush it etc.

He is on 80k a year. He can sort his own finances himself.

Konfetka · 27/01/2023 21:54

Not a cat's chance in hell.

That's your running away money.

daisychain01 · 27/01/2023 21:55

ladywithnomanors · 27/01/2023 20:46

He pays for all holidays and large purchases

OP there's absolutely no hope for you if you believe that him paying for holidays and large purchases in anyway compensates for you not being an equal owner in the house.

He's really doing one on you.

Triflenot · 27/01/2023 21:56

It makes sense for the OP to claim Child Benefit as it ensures her NI record is kept up to date while she was a SAHM.
Are you working for the NHS now ladywithnomanors? If so, you can buy additional pension with them if your prediction is on the low side.

That will benefit you both in the long run.

FairyBatman · 27/01/2023 21:56

He called you a thief for taking coppers from a jar for bus fare, whilst refusing to support you as a SAHM, and now he wants to borrow money?

Do you honestly think he would be earning £80k a year if you hadn’t picked up all the domestic and childcare duties?

He has been financially and probably emotionally abusing you for years, and your darling DM has thrown you a lifeline and the means to get out. This might be your only chance.