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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to think that my OH should not have spent £260 on Ugg boots for the DCs?

36 replies

Apocalypto · 29/11/2012 11:22

We have just moved house, Xmas is coming, and every penny matters.

Without discussing it with me first, OH told me a few weeks ago that the DCs (9 and 6) had just been bought a pair of Uggs each as "they need winter boots". And that these had cost £200.

I was aghast and said so. I am selling stuff on eBay for a fiver here and a tenner there to make ends meet, and meanwhile £200 gets blown without a by your leave. I don't spend £100 on shoes or boots for myself.

These Ugg boots have not made the DCs happy. The very next day one got butter stains on and was in floods of tears, until they came out with cornflour. OH then announces that as we clearly need the Ugg care kit as well, I've also now paid for that. This has also been bought. Separately.

I then see the credit card bill and these boots were not £200 but £260, and that is not including the care kit.

WWYD?

OP posts:
SavoyCabbage · 29/11/2012 11:26

Goodness me that's madness! Is he the sort of person who gets things in his head and focuses on them? I'm a bit speechless and all I can think of for you to do is to sit him down and try to get him to understand his folly.

boxoftricks · 29/11/2012 11:28

Ugg boots are not suitable 'winter boots' for children imo.
They aren't waterproof or properly wipe clean. What are they going to wear when it snows? When it rains all weekend?
Any chance you can sell them on eBay? And get them some leather boots? Or something more practical?
As for DH, did he take the girls out shopping, notice they need new shoes and get badgered for ugg boots? Did he think he was helping? Maybe he associated price with quality? And because he sees them about, thought they would be suitable?
Lying about the price is another matter entirely and I think you should just ask him straight out "why did you tell me they were £200 not £260?" Did he say "200 odd" or 200 ish when you asked him initially?

WileyRoadRunner · 29/11/2012 11:29

Personally i would have made him return them, or returned them.

You can get nice boots at Next etc for £25 or less that are Ugg-like. At 9 and 6 they are too young to take any notice of the label.

It's not like they are going to retain any value as they will be ruined by the time they have grown out of them.

I cannot understand why you did not make him return them?

TheReturnOfBridezilla · 29/11/2012 11:31

Uggs are pretty indestructible in my experience, mine have been worn in rain, snow and still going strong but that's not really the point. Children's feet grow so fast it's a real waste to be spending that kind of money, especially if you are short and without discussing it first.

cheekybaubles · 29/11/2012 11:33

Well that's a great life lesson he has taught them. £260 for a pair of boots at the grand old age of 6?
You could have bought all their Christmas presents AND a pair of perfectly adequate leather boots for way less than that!
A serious word and refund would have been had.

cheekybaubles · 29/11/2012 11:37

Just to add I wouldn't recommend any fake type uggs as they do not support the ankles. I thought I had permanently ruined my dds gait when I saw how they were bending. Will never put her in that type of boot again

Acandlelitshadow · 29/11/2012 11:37

How bizarre of him Confused.

Obviously too late to send the stained ones back and possibly not worth trying to sell on as you may get a fraction of what they've cost but you do need to have A Talk asap.

Original poster
Apocalypto · 29/11/2012 11:38

They'd been bought that afternoon (half term) and worn from the shop so they were already unreturnable before I knew of them, which was when I got in from work that evening.

At this point even if I took them away and sold them on eBay I'd get less than it would cost to buy cheapo lookalikes. Plus of course we have the situation that one nice parent "buys" the treats and then I'm the nasty one who takes them away because I'm the sap who has to make financial ends meet round here.

I've asked why I was told they were £200 when they were £260 and the response is "well I've already told you how much they were".

OP posts:
Original poster
Apocalypto · 29/11/2012 11:41

The reason this concerns me is that DD1, who is 9, wants an iPod for Xmas and is winding DD2 (6) up to want the same.

I am worried that I will find two iPods (cost ~£150 each) will also be bought and I won't find out until they come out to be wrapped on 24 December.

OP posts:
StickEmUp · 29/11/2012 11:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

expatinscotland · 29/11/2012 11:42

I'd have put them on Ebay as soon as he got home.

DD has cheap lookalikes from ASDA for a tenner.

BunnyLebowski · 29/11/2012 11:43

He sounds like an absolute tit.

Plus those shoes are offensively minging and completely impractical.

Confused
whois · 29/11/2012 11:44

He is a massive thicko for buying uggs as winter boots. What a numpty, they are not made for the wet, mud, snow or any of our other English winter weather.

He's also pretty stupid buying uggs for young DCs at all, what a waste of money.

Why exactly did he do this?

whois · 29/11/2012 11:46

He sounds like an absolute tit

^ yeah, this

He also sounds financially irresponsible and feckless
Can't be doing with knobs like that.

PPPop · 29/11/2012 11:51

I would be fuming. But, its done now so I think you need to focus on making sure it doesn't happen again. I would speak to him when I had calmed down and try to explain to him everything you have told us - you are doing everything you can to save money and Ugg boots are a huge expense - and your (collective) money would have been better spent elsewhere.

I would discuss the whole iPod thing and make sure you are a united front on it now.

If he thinks its ok to get them an iPod, discuss why you disagree and where the money is going to come from to pay for them - hopefully he will see sense when he realises that the cut backs will have to come from somewhere. Its frustrating when you have different views on managing money, but its best to agree and compromise on things before you spend it, rather than argue after the deed is done.

akaemmafrost · 29/11/2012 11:52

Well ex H bought Uggs for DD last winter and she is wearing them again this year and they still look immaculate so at £90 that works out at £45 per winter and she's worn them all year round apart from summer so me, I think Uggs are ok for kids. They'll go on eBay when she's grown out of them because they so still look great.

However if YOU are scraping around for money on eBay and he has not even bothered to discuss this with you then I would be furious.

GladbagsGold · 29/11/2012 11:53

I'd be fuming. Does he do this sort of thing often?

PurpleRayne · 29/11/2012 11:55

Is he a she..?

fran28 · 29/11/2012 12:05

why have ye all presumed that it is a he that bought the boots? not very fair

PPPop · 29/11/2012 12:11

I'd be fuming whether it was a he or a she. Is that relevant?

bondigidum · 29/11/2012 12:14

I don't particularly like uggs. They're like slippers that are worn outside, about as absorbant as slippers aswell. Plus they go all floppy after not very long. Wouldn't advise the cheapo ones either, they last about a week. They're just a waste of money, nothing weatherproof about them and stain easily.

Your OH has fucked up. Wasted money you'll never get back on basically naff shoes. Kids feet grow really quickly aswell. Try selling on ebay, won't get anywhere near £260 but there you go and buy nicer absorbant ones.

Levantine · 29/11/2012 12:14

Why on earth did he do that? Why do you think he did it? Was he not thinking? Trying to prove some sort of point?

Glitterkitten24 · 29/11/2012 12:14

It's not on. Get them on eBay and have a serious word about spending.

I also got the impression that you are male and that its the girls mother who is spending, am I off the mark on that?

SavoyCabbage · 29/11/2012 12:15

I don't see how it makes any difference (and would do hmm if the smiley faces weren't all weird on the new app)

Northernlurker · 29/11/2012 12:17

Tbh I disagree with you a bit. I agree that dds do not need uggs and that you clearly need a big chat about how you manage money together as you are upset by this. However it would seem that when he (?) bought them he didn't know that the expense was too much? Is that right? I spent nearly £90 on dd3's Angulus boots this autumn and I would have been bloody furious if dh had objected to that after the event. You have to respect each others parenting decisions.