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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to be incredibly annoyed with DH?

79 replies

IncorrigibleTitmouse · 15/09/2019 07:18

DH was self employed for about 10 years, but over the past 3 it became evident that what he was doing was never going to be profitable. In fact, there were periods where he would make big fat zero for months at a time, to the point where he had to ask his parents for money. Humiliating in your late 30s.

So, after many rows and plenty of sleepless nights worrying about money (for me!) he got a job. Accepted he’d have to start at the bottom to get into an industry he was interested in, but made a commitment to me to doing both that and going to night school to be able to progress.

Like many of us, he had a commute of about an hour each way. As he’d had no commute while self-employed and could set his own hours he quickly deemed this unreasonable (despite the fact I’ve been doing it my entire working life) and moaned about it every day.

A lesser paid (about £12,000 a year less) job came up at his company’s location closer to our home, meaning a half hour commute each way. He told me he was thinking of going for it even though it’s a more menial job and it would mean doing the night shift (7pm-6am Mon-Thurs). He says the location he’d move to is where all the higher ups are and there’s more potential for them to notice his work but we have just bought a house (using my salary only because he’s been such a financial mess) and we can’t afford the drop. He asked me what I thought—I told him on three separate occasions that it was not a good idea. On Thursday—he’s accepted the job and starts tomorrow.

AIBU to be so effing livid I can barely be in the same room as him? Not only the selfishness of taking that major pay cut but also the fact that he’s given zero consideration to what the hours will do to our marriage? Plus there will be someone in the house 24 hours a day now so our utility bills will essentially double. AIBU or is he being incredibly selfish?

OP posts:
IncrediblySadToo · 15/09/2019 08:25

I’d tell him that as he wants to act like a child he can move back to his parents.

Truly.

Life is hard enough without carrying a lazy, selfish immature prat.

You need to see a lawyer for the best way to secure the house for you.

I know that you probably love him, but lovebisnt enough! You need to think ahead, Do you really want another 60 years of never getting anywhere because he’s too lazy & immature?

It’s not easy, but the right things seldom are!

RedRec · 15/09/2019 08:40

My husband was like this and leaned on me for 13 years when I had a high salary and he was pissing around half-heartedly trying different things (none successful).
Eventually I was made redundant and he still didn't step up to the plate so after seven more years (children involved) I left him, once able to extricate myself from the financial mess he had left us in. Just leave him. It will only get worse and you will get more resentful. Good luck.

Lahlahfizzyfizzydoda · 15/09/2019 08:45

Ah the poor wee lamb, found the commute difficult....but it’s been okay for you to do this for years Hmm.

Remember that resentment breeds contempt, maybe he needs a shock of a trail separation to sort his priorities right.

BuildBuildings · 15/09/2019 08:59

In terms of what you do next I think you need to decide if this is a deal breaker for you. As it's not just a one off thing. It's going to affect your life on an ongoing basis.

Also in terms of being recognised at work. I'm pretty sure taking a step down and massive pay cut is not the way to go.

RandomMess · 15/09/2019 09:02

You can always holiday without him...

Notajogger · 15/09/2019 09:08

If they were offering to pay for a course which would have helped his career which he now can't do, AND he's taken a demotion, then this bit about "doing it to be noticed"/working his way up sounds like absolute rubbish. Either he's an idiot or - I'm not sure what! Maybe he just doesn't want his career to progress - you have said that he's lazy. Maybe he's actively preventing progression so he can coast.

Blueoasis · 15/09/2019 09:16

Those night shifts are going to be a hell of a lot harder that the commute! Especially to a lazy person. I honestly wonder how long he will last

If he's in the job I think he is in (something in it), then shift work seems to suit the lazy people, going by my company at least. They don't have as much to do at night, it's mostly done during the day, which if I am right and it is the same job will be why he took it.

OP go and see a solicitor about divorcing him and how to protect your assets. You've provided for him for years, you have proof of that. You may not have to split 50/50 based on that. Even if you do, it's better than this life of helping a scrounger.

SunniDay · 15/09/2019 09:45

Did you get into a relationship with someone that is not ambitious and wants a fairly easy work/life balance and now you are surprised that he is not ambitious and wants a fairly easy work life balance?

Does he tell you what job you must do or do you do the job that you chose?

You are describing him as lazy and I think many people working 44 hours of night shifts would object to this. Even at minimum wage he will earn around £400 a week. You might find that there is an unsocial hours night allowance on top of that. In my job there is of a third of pay enhancement.

You mention you have a family - will his night time working allow you to reduce any childcare costs? e.g. sleep when the kids are at school. Will he be able to keep on top of housework/shopping etc on his weekday days off so that if you get a weekend day off together you can both enjoy it.

You got the house based on your earnings alone so must be able to manage as a household with him working any full time job surely - and have a holiday as well.

You are his partner not his boss and I think you should start listening to what he has to say.

CrystalShark · 15/09/2019 09:58

You are describing him as lazy and I think many people working 44 hours of night shifts would object to this.

He hasn’t done the job yet. If he’s flaky enough that a standard hour-long commute was onerous enough that he decided to take an £11k paycut I’d be very surprised if he sticks out more than a few months of this new role.

Lol at ‘the higher ups will notice my work’ yeah sure, the senior management will notice the guy doing stock take overnight doing it really quickly and efficiently and then promote him to... what? That’s just not how it works. He’s already taken several steps down the ladder. Nobody is gonna swoop in and see a guy who left a better job for a quicker commute and hand him career progression.

I don’t think he’s stupid though. I think he’s pretty smart. He knows he can do this and get away with it, that there’ll be no consequences, that his standard of living will continue to be decent as his wife and parents will pick up the slack and cushion him from the reality of losing £300-400 per month.

The lack of respect would be the killer for me here. He doesn’t respect you or see you as a team where you both support each other, it’s all one way. You support him. Parents support him. If he was just a non cohabiting boyfriend then fair enough, he can do what he likes and you can decide whether to stay with him or progress to marriage. But to be this way when you’re already tied together due to marriage and kids is pretty much unforgivable imo, it’s a big ‘fuck you’ to you.

Good news is, the mortgage is just in your name right? You should check out where you’d stand legally and financially if you divorced just so you know your options.

I can’t see him ever changing tbh, so it’s up to you whether you want to be with a guy like this or whether it’d be a lot easier to walk away. I couldn’t bring myself to respect someone who’d do this tbh.

Tilltheendoftheline · 15/09/2019 10:04

It's fine having an earning gap between partners, but not when one is actively lowering their contribution to make their lives easier which in turn makes the others harder and more stressful.

I agree with this. I earn twice as much as my dp. It doesnt bother me. He works hard. I work hard. My career just has more earning potential. If he quit or decided to work part time to give himself an easy life, but put more stress on me, not even taking me into account, I would realise we weren't a partnership.

You are describing him as lazy and I think many people working 44 hours of night shifts would object to this. Even at minimum wage he will earn around £400 a week. You might find that there is an unsocial hours night allowance on top of that. In my job there is of a third of pay enhancement.

You mean the job he hasnt done yet? The job he picked that put more strain on the OP, because he didnt like the half hour commute?

Did you read how much less it was per year. It really doesn't matter if working nights will bring in £400 per week. Ita a loss of income which is putting op under more pressure.

SunniDay · 15/09/2019 10:06

If the genders in this thread were swapped over the replies would no way read like this. Try reading it over and imagine the comments were about a woman/mother of his child and how the man should leave as she has chosen to swap a stressful job/long commute for a job which is night shifts closer to home. "Leave/seek divorce/ she will always take take take but be aware she can get your pension" - it wouldn't happen.

SunniDay · 15/09/2019 10:09

"Did you read how much less it was per year. It really doesn't matter if working nights will bring in £400 per week. Ita a loss of income which is putting op under more pressure."

It can't be that much pressure if OP was able to get her mortgage based on her own earnings alone and then other half earns 20K

SignedUpJust4This · 15/09/2019 10:16

'If the genders were swapped... '

Yawn... This again.

Would he be doing all the childcare and bedtimes in this imaginary situation? And all housework the housework and cooking? Would he be the one sacrificing career progression and pension to have children with a lazy selfish arse?
Show me that post please

RandomMess · 15/09/2019 10:17

The op has been clear that although they managed to get the mortgage on her salary they can't afford to have the best part of £1k less per month in their bank account. It's going to have a significant impact on their lifestyle.

New jobs are stressful especially when used to doing as you please as self employed.

RichTwoTurkeyFriend · 15/09/2019 10:21

As he has unilaterally made this decision without considering your partnership, then he should be the one that bears the brunt of the shortfall ie, he can cancel gym memberships, hobbies etc to offset the cost.

SunniDay · 15/09/2019 10:21

"Would he be doing all the childcare and bedtimes in this imaginary situation? And all housework the housework and cooking? Would he be the one sacrificing career progression and pension to have children with a lazy selfish arse?
Show me that post please"

I genuinely don't understand this comment. Would a woman be doing all the bedtimes and childcare in this situation? I would hope not! I've I assume that the couple would do whatever works for them?

GetUpAgain · 15/09/2019 10:24

My friend was married to someone like this. It was soul destroying for her. Since she divorced him the change in her has been amazing. She is so much happier and 'lighter in spirit ' even though she has 100% responsibility for the kids. She can rely on herself but she couldn't rely on him, it was like he was sabotaging her life and parenting.

OP you don't have to accept this from him.

Flowers
SignedUpJust4This · 15/09/2019 10:25

It appears that she is already doing most of it and will probably have to do even more when he starts his new job. A major family decision he took without considering her feelings.

waterrat · 15/09/2019 10:36

Has he ever done nights before ?

I worked nights for years and it was one of the darkest times of my life. They made me genuinely depressed and in a fog of unhappiness. The science shows that you never genuinely switch over..ie.your circadian rhythm is designed to sleep at night and it's impossible to undo it. Long term night shifts are linked to cancer.

So. He has swapped a half hour commute and better pay for far far worse working conditions.

Absolutely nobody senior will notice him if he is doing nights (another tip from personal experience..night shifts are lonely and nobody sees you)

I would seriously try to get him to back out

Tonnerre · 15/09/2019 10:39

Can he get the qualification he needs by going to classes in the daytime?

You could also ask him what he's going to do to make up the financial shortfall, e.g. by getting a weekend job.

CrystalShark · 15/09/2019 10:47

If the genders in this thread were swapped over the replies would no way read like this. Try reading it over and imagine the comments were about a woman/mother of his child and how the man should leave as she has chosen to swap a stressful job/long commute for a job which is night shifts closer to home.

If this hypothetical woman had decided of her own accord to make a career change that left the family £11k per year worse off without any real discussion with her husband, knowing that he didn’t agree with it, and it left him paying the lion’s share of everything (and came off the back of a long period of self employment which at times brought literally no money into the household) then yeah, I think the comments would be the same.

Tilltheendoftheline · 15/09/2019 11:01

If the genders in this thread were swapped over the replies would no way read like this. Try reading it over and imagine the comments were about a woman/mother of his child and how the man should leave as she has chosen to swap a stressful job/long commute for a job which is night shifts closer to home. "Leave/seek divorce/ she will always take take take but be aware she can get your pension" - it wouldn't happen.

Dont be ridiculous. If a woman came here and posted that she had been self employed for years often didnt contribute to the household bills, got a job that finally meant she could and then jacked that in leaving the household almost 1k short a month cause she didnt like the commute and had basically gone back on the agreement about building a career and going to night school, putting the pressure back on her husband, most mners would tell her to get a grip.

RunningOutOfCharacte · 15/09/2019 11:03

Jesus wept. It's not about man versus woman.

-he unilaterally decided to take a pay cut affecting the entire family
-he turned down free evening classes which would have helped his career progression
-he has demoted himself refusing to acknowledge this shitty behaviour is hardly going to get him noticed by the senior levels... well not for the right reason anyway
-he has put all of the stress financial and otherwise on his partner
-he has added strain to the marriage (and I'm assuming family) as the op doesn't know when they will even see each other if he does nights

It's the fact he has no consequence to any of his actions. He is behaving like a child with no responsibilities. And I'm shocked really shocked to discover there are children and a mortgage in the mix.

It's not about partners bringing in unequal salaries. It's inevitable one person will earn less. But it's about working as a team and knowing that if you slack it means someone else has to pick it up. He doesn't give a shit.

blackcat86 · 15/09/2019 11:16

Dh used to be like this and I just accepted we had taken different paths (having started on the same wage) until we had DD and I had zero support or financial contribution from him. It was a case of me always supporting him not us supporting each other. I decided that things simply had to change, partly helped by a traumatic birth and postnatal period leaving me with emotional numbness. I literally have zero fucks to give now, sorry DH. You need to start to create a sense of scarcity so no you cant have takeout, new things, extra holidays or whatever if not where is the incentive for him to change? Stop substituting him and if he pesters for something tell him he'll need to save for it. I reflected to DH that clearly we needed to be paying half each of the bills given his lack of support when I was on ML or when I went PT and I emailed him a breakdown of our bills and what half was minus anything he already paid for. That completely separated our day to day finances. I also found marriage counselling helpful for dispelling some the myths he told himself about how he contributed to the family. In fairness he is now applying for new jobs and has found a new side gig. I'm very cautious about things and have applied for a FT promotion but things are better.

SunniDay · 15/09/2019 11:17

"Dont be ridiculous. If a woman came here and posted that she had been self employed for years often didnt contribute to the household bills, got a job that finally meant she could and then jacked that in leaving the household almost 1k short a month cause she didnt like the commute and had basically gone back on the agreement about building a career and going to night school, putting the pressure back on her husband, most mners would tell her to get a grip."

The woman would write:
I've recently gone back to work after my business failed and I'm not enjoying it - it pays well but is stressful and there is a one hour commute each way. I have been able to secure a job with the same company that is closer and full time night shifts. My husband didn't want me to take the pay drop. I have accepted the job and now he says he is so angry that he can't bear to be in the same room as me AIBU

In this case I believe most people would support the person/ job change.

I was reading a thread earlier about gender and everyone was saying that they don't confirm to gender stereotypes and a man can be whatever he wants etc. This thread prices to me what bullshit that is. A man is expected to earn the best he can and his happiness is inconsequential compared to his earnings. If he chooses to put his happiness above his earning potential LTB. Of course there are practical limitations to the pursuit of happiness but the man is continuing to have a full time job - no-one will be going hungry in that house. If the OP chooses to do a stressful job with a long commute and get a big mortgage that was her choice.