Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH cross I have questioned bank statement

256 replies

bank100 · 07/01/2020 19:08

Name changed for this.

DH and I have a joint current account that we both use for pretty much everything. DH is generally the one to keep an eye on our account and look out for any error transactions.

Today I had a good look through the Dec transactions as I noticed the balance was lower that usual. We are expecting a baby next month and was hoping the balance would look a bit healthier. I made a list of things I hadn't realised we were spending on. Including £100 he'd spent at various pubs (after work drinks), £100 cash withdrawn for imo no reason, £50+ at a sports venue, £70 on another hobby & numerous starbucks etc.

His reaction to me questioning these things was to grab my list, shout that he earns most of the money so he's allowed to spend on whatever he wants. He then tried to find things I had spent on... literally couldn't, I don't spend much on myself. There was one cheap beauty appointment. So was IBU for questioning this, or is he being U for being so cross? I feel weird about it.

OP posts:
GiveHerHellFromUs · 08/01/2020 17:48

@BiddyPop if you're charged per transaction you need to change banks. They're charging you to spend your own money? Makes no sense.

ScreamingBeans · 08/01/2020 18:40

Someone I know used her credit card for all her purchases, even the contactless coffees.

She got points for using it which converted into air miles, so she got discounts on flights.

Not to be sniffed at if you like holidays.

SophieSaph2020 · 08/01/2020 18:55

@Dandelion1993

I've never had a credit card and have been overdrawn once by £20

Neither DH nor I have ever been overdrawn, in 35+ yrs of working. We have a joint account which we manage very well - have never argued about it - a joint visa credit card plus 2 individual each (1 visa, 1 MasterCard). We get various perks with the visas and use Mastercard abroad with no fees, plus the obvious protection of using cards. I very rarely pay anything with cash. All cards are paid off in full monthly. We have even encouraged our young adult DC to have a CC each (which they both use wisely and also pay off in full) to enhance their credit scores.

We are the furthest you could get from people who can't manage their money properly. My DS would fall off his chair in hysterics if he heard that, given how well we manage our own money and are teaching DC to do the same.

We both work, neither of us are on mega salaries, but above average for UK. We save/invest considerable amounts whilst not particularly watching what we spend. We are not frugal but neither do we waste money.

I can afford to work PT even with older DC and we will be able to retire at 60 on investments alone, even before considering pension pots (DH is self employed so has less in pensions but substantial investments). We have also been able to save for the DC, who will have a decent house deposit when they need it - hence our advise to them to have a CC each and use it wisely.

Op - there is nothing wrong with having a joint account, we have had one for 22+ yrs and it’s never been a problem. Maybe you could move your savings out of the joint account immediately after pay day, then split remaining money after bills to give you some spending money each?

My DD finds that moving the majority of her money into savings on payday stops her frittering. She generally pulls some back, but has to then stop and think how much she needs and what it is for.

CSIblonde · 08/01/2020 19:03

I wouldn't like being asked to justify my spending, but I wouldn't shout etc. Also, one months outgoings cant be a fair representation of usual spending, if its Dec you're looking at, Xmas has more expenses:gifts, rounds of drinks at work outings etc.

BoxedWine · 08/01/2020 19:08

Oh sorry I didn't realise this was the 1950s. My bad, I thought she could take maternity for a shortened period, likely on full pay, and he could potentially take some paternity, but that was assuming it was 2020.

Silly me.

Well it is a rather optimistic assumption that any woman in the UK would 'likely' get a period of ML on full pay. It's hardly guaranteed.

Teateaandmoretea · 08/01/2020 19:36

the "it helps me manage my money" comment. If your limit is any higher than your "spare cash" amount and you're using it on a day to day basis it makes no sense to me as you can just have your own current account to spend from.

We have a joint current account with two people using it. Plus we don't keep 'spare cash' in our current account. We invest our 'spare cash' to get a return.

It's a really bizarre thing that on MN you post something that works for you and people feel they have to pick and criticise. WHY? 😂😂🤷🏻‍♀️

GiveHerHellFromUs · 08/01/2020 20:08

@Teateaandmoretea but you don't invest your spare cash if you spend it on your credit card then pay it off each month. That's what I didn't get. But I guess what you mean is you spend whatever you need or want, then all bills etc are paid and any spare cash after that is reinvested. If so I get that.

Funny that you omitted my comment that said I just genuinely wanted to understand.

Your logic just seems bizarre to me but if it works for you then great🤷‍♀️

Teateaandmoretea · 08/01/2020 20:22

I'm not pretending it's logical in any way but it's easy and works for us 🤷🏻‍♀️. It probably sounds bizarre but honestly we find it the easiest way... honest 🤔😁

Creepster · 08/01/2020 22:59

if you have a credit card that you pay off monthly, why bother with a credit card at all?
If I buy something on my cc and it is rubbish and the seller refuses to take it back for a refund I simply contact the cc customer service and they intercede for me.
Once I bought an item with my debit card and I had to go to the bank and fill out a fraud form to get the merchant to take back the stolen merchandise they were selling.

so, I suppose it depends on how and where you shop if a cc makes sense for you.

Creepster · 08/01/2020 23:02

When your partner suddenly changes the way they manage something you had an agreement on I think it absolutely behooves you to question them on it. Unilateral changes without discussion is a red flag in a relationship.

HannaYeah · 08/01/2020 23:36

So both parties agreed financial management was up to one person. Then the one that was not previously paying detailed attention decided to alter course and get more involved.

Rather than a sneak attack how about an adult discussion?

Graphista · 09/01/2020 02:37

Wow! There definitely are posters stuck in a pre-feminist mindset but it’s not the posters who’ve been accused as such!

Op had every right to check their JOINT account when she was concerned at the low balance.

Her dh has behaved appallingly.

Firstly by not letting her know about the additional spending - the very least he should have done is alerted her. Really he should have discussed with her before spending because it is their JOINT money.

Secondly by reacting as he did in terms of anger/defence.

Thirdly by apparently believing it’s all his money!

Op if I were you I’d be doing a few things

1 check the last years bank statements for unusual outgoings

2 consider - are the savings in his name or are they also in a joint account? When did you last check the balance of this account if it’s joint?

3 open my own account into which my salary and any money for dc goes into eg child benefit.

4 sit and discuss with dh how you will organise your finances going forward as this way clearly isn’t working. You also need to establish what he really thinks re your finances.

If he really thinks it’s his money then you need to consider contingency planning to protect yourself financially. You might also need to consider going back to working full time earlier than you originally planned to facilitate that.

Personally I would say you should each open both a current account and a savings account of your own with a different bank to the joint account.

Keep the joint account but he contributes 2/3 and you 1/3 to shared bills and costs inc the children’s costs.

But quite honestly I think it’s deeply worrying not only what he said (which as some are arguing was said in the heat of the moment - but then often that can be when people say what they really think!) but even more so what he did.

He overspent on several occasions without caring about the effect on your joint finances, without telling you even after the fact and without remotely thinking this could be a problem.

Also interesting the perspective of people posting in terms of how much he spent.

That’s a LOT of money to me - and to very many other people! It’s more than my rent! And that’s what was OVER spent.

Hard to tell if it’s a frightening amount of money to op’s dh as they’re able to save £400 a month but then it also makes me wonder if the value of that money has been lost sight of by him. I can’t imagine spending £100 on one day on ANYTHING without lots of planning and worrying. Let alone on the spur of the moment!

I would find the Dh’s behaviour and response incredibly stressful and worrying. I don’t think op has done anything wrong.

Shocking number of posters who seem to thinks she

1 has no right to question how money is being spent out of an account that is half hers

2 has no right to be worried about family finances the MONTH before she has another child

3 should somehow be grovellingly grateful that her dh “keeps” her (he doesn’t in my opinion!)

4 has only herself to blame for having taken a career and pay hit in having children!

Absolutely shocking! I do hope that NONE of the posters that think the above remotely consider themselves feminists!

SaphfireRose · 09/01/2020 03:53

@Dandelion1993 Yeah I guess all the rich people with their AmEx cards can't handle their own vast fortune. Hmm

Your ignorant (and I believe, born out of jealousy) comment is the most uneducated, ignorant, immature and stupid comment I have seen on this site for a very very long time.

How about you speak to a Financial Adviser about the well-known and prudent benefits of having a credit card, and educate yourself? Better yet, why don't you tell that same Financial Adviser why he/she is stupid for having a credit card (because they all do) and tell this Financial Adviser that they can't handle money.

You are making a fool of yourself.

NearlyGranny · 09/01/2020 05:13

Both working, both paying into a joint account for 'eveything', normally saving £400 pcm, one partner suddenly spending £300+ extra without any consultation, this being the partner who normally checks through transactions each month (but not this time?) and then he gets all angry and defensive and possessive over 'his' money when he:s asked about the extras? And a second baby due in a few short weeks?

Not good. Not healthy. Not open and honest, either. Something's up. If it were just a few pre-Christmas drinks after work and some present buying, why wouldn't he just say so?

TimeForDinnerDinnerDinner · 09/01/2020 05:18

Ooooo, I don't like his over-reaction one bit.
Nasty! No matter how you asked him he shouldn't have responded like that!
Is this out of character?
Take care OP.

timeisnotaline · 09/01/2020 10:32

Unbelievable how some people are responding. So both parties agreed financial management was up to one person. Then the one that was not previously paying detailed attention decided to alter course and get more involved.
Or, both parties agreed financial management was up to one person. Then the other at a vulnerable period in her life financially noticed the balance was lower than expected according to their agreed understanding, looked at their joint account, and realised the other person was actually just spending what should have been the savings. She raised this and her partner shouted at her that it’s his money.

timeisnotaline · 09/01/2020 10:35

Teateaandmoreteas approach is completely logical, assuming you can get some return on your spare cash for the month before using it to pay off the credit card. We pay our card off monthly. And every now and then it is also handy to have the extra option of not paying it off one month if we are a bit short.

nowaypose · 09/01/2020 10:35

This is why I don’t want a joint account. I want to spend my money without being questioned.

Bigpaintinglittlepainting · 09/01/2020 10:41

I think you have found out op that it’s one rule for you and another for him

bank100 · 09/01/2020 10:57

@Graphista thank you & I will take your advice re: setting up separate accounts & thinking about returning to work full time after mat leave.
It has been a bit of a wake up call.

OP posts:
Rachelfromfriends1 · 09/01/2020 10:59

Credit cards are for people who can't manage their money properly.

@Dandelion1993 you sound bitter - guessing your credit score is terrible as it doesn’t sound like you’re eligible for a good credit card if you can’t see the benefits of using one.

I have a very high credit score at a young age, thanks to using my credit cards and paying them off in full each month.

I am eligible for higher tier products, so my credit card gives me points on every purchase and other offers/freebies and cashback. I wouldn’t get these by simply using my debit card.

You also have a higher level of protection with credit card purchases in the form of chargebacks and section 75 of the consumer credit act. It might sound unnecessary until you buy from a shop that unexpectedly goes into administration, or have problems with a purchase where the retailer refuses to assist - particularly with faulty high value items. It’s definitely worthwhile to put big purchases on your credit card then instantly pay it off just for the protection alone.

Graphista · 09/01/2020 16:32

Op I'm sure it has been a shock especially his reaction.

I'm coming at this from the perspective of having been married to a spender where I'm a saver but naively we thought all married couples had joint current accounts and just pooled all their money - that's how both sets of parents did things and both our mums had been sahm at points because in the the 60's and 70's there simply wasn't much in the way of childcare.

It wasn't until much later we learned that they too had bumps along the way due to one being a spender and the other a saver.

They had sorted things out their own ways and we took advice from both and used the elements that worked for us but weirdly what we never considered was separate accounts.

We earned roughly the same but ex was used to having more of his money being his own to do as he liked because until we married (we didn't live together first) he had low outgoings due to being in the army. And they were almost all deducted at source so he didn't have to think about it.

His rent was very low (but it was really just essentially for a room in barracks - shared bathroom and small kitchen), mess fees heavily subsidised for excellent food, minimal amount for a fee that was akin to council tax (they don't actually pay council tax in barracks then not sure about now, but there was another thing I forget name now which covered that), his uniform was free of course and much of his kit. So all he had to pay for out of what was left - which was a good amount for a young single bloke then - was for nights out, his sports hobby (again through army so largely subsidised) transport if needed and "civvy" clothes/shoes if needed (which as he mostly lived in uniform and if he wasn't going out of an evening he'd just kick about his room in joggers/tee wasn't often)

So when we married and he suddenly had real bills to pay it was a bit of a shock to him, he'd never had to budget before!

After our first few months together it was stressing me out that he'd regularly dip into the overdraft without batting an eye - his attitude was he was in a very secure job and would definitely be paid next month so it was no problem. He also didn't know that being overdrawn cost! No idea why he thought that.

There was one almighty argument as a result of his actions leading to me being embarrassed in the corner shop when card was decline when I thought there was over £100 in the account.

Once we both calmed down we sat and went through all our bank statements (I'm very organised type and had them all in a folder paper statements then) and then income and outgoings and eventually agreed a personal spending amount.

At first he tried to argue I spent as much as him on my personal stuff but we went through the statements with highlighter pens and added up who spent what and his personal spends well exceeded mine! He was shocked how much he was spending (at the start of the discussion he'd said a rough amount what he thought he spent - it was 1/4 of what he actually spent!) he was also shocked to learn that overdrafts cost money - inc fees for bloody letters from the bank he was almost apoplectic at that and nearly complained to bank, I had to explain to him he'd agreed to that when taking out the account and that actually I had told him this when we discussed arranging the overdraft as a buffer he'd forgotten.

So from that point all well and good, we set a budget together, reviewed it annually or when there were major changes to income or outgoings or planning a large purchase.

When planning dd we saved for my mat leave (wasn't as good maternity pay in law then as it is now) and again set a budget.

Fine until we split. I was a sahm at the time having previously been a childminder (I had suspicions of affair and I had charges that were moving on and as we were in army accommodation I didn't want to take on new clients that I was worried I'd soon be letting down), that came to a head and we split.

He'd always been very vocal about how men behaved following a split (but then he'd always been vocal about cheats too) so I was shocked when 2 days after we split, knowing I'd no other income he completely wiped out the bank account, took the family car without a word to me and some valuables from the house again without warning.

It was a horrendous situation. I was far from home, no support network, no job, about to be turned out of my home with no right to claim council housing where I was as I had no familial or employment connection to the area.

I had to borrow money from a neighbour I barely knew at that point (we became good friends) and then repay them when my parents were able to pay in money to the bank and I was able to get to a branch to lift it.

Never been so low in terms of financial security in my life.

To give you a sense of how "out of character" my ex's actions were for him his own family and close friends since childhood genuinely believed he was having a breakdown. He wasn't but he has changed a hell of a lot.

I now advise others in real life and on here to just protect yourself financially as much as you can.

People don't always realise how vulnerable they are.

I've said on here many times also about the relative I saw being left seriously stuck when her partner died intestate. She was also a sahm to 2 young dc. The house was in his name because she had no earnings to go on the mortgage/deeds, because he was young fit and healthy it didn't occur to them to have his life insured and as I say no will. As a result she had to leave the family home and go back to work full time while she and the children were still very much grieving. She had got along well enough with her "in laws" before he died but after they claimed their legal rights to the family home etc.

It's frightening what you read on here sometimes what people believe they would get legally in the event of a split, or spouse/partner becoming incapacitated or dying.

Marriage provides some protection and I'm glad I was married to my ex as it gave me some recourse on some matters but in hindsight I would have been better off

Having my banking completely separate to his

Working outside the home full time and having dd settled in childcare

Having some savings set aside (we did have savings but again joint account which he emptied)

Having a credit card just in case (I didn't trust them at that point but now know better. Pps are right they have their uses if handled sensibly)

Had my own car even if it were just an old "banger" rather than us having 1 much newer car between us.

Hindsight is 20/20 you are where you are but hopefully you can sort things so you're less vulnerable.

Motoko · 09/01/2020 18:36

Very sensible advice Graphista.

they don't actually pay council tax in barracks then not sure about now, but there was another thing I forget name now which covered that

I don't know about army accommodation, but before council tax, we had to pay The Rates.

Motoko · 09/01/2020 18:41

Oh, and to add to Graphista's list, you need to check the monthly statement every month. You should know what's being spent.

I suggest you both get your own accounts, and put an equal amount in from the joint account each, for your personal spending.

Aderyn19 · 09/01/2020 18:46

Did you check the balance on the savings account?

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.