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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to be really confused by my friend and her husband

231 replies

atimetobealive · 01/06/2020 12:34

My friend had a baby in the middle of February And lockdown obviously commenced in March. Her husband was furloughed and it put them in a tight spot with money. She’s been worried about it non stop and has taken all the relevant payment holidays etc.

Anyway, my husband has a rental property (nothing fancy it was the house he bought before we met and he’s kept it and we live in a house I bought prior to our relationship.) That needs a full rewire And other bits done and i asked My friend if her husband would like to do it. He’s an electrician but very handy in other things too and could do all the things we needed done in the house.

I messaged my friend last week and said what needed doing and asked her to ask her husband to give us a quote for all the work.

She came back to me to say that he doesn’t want to do it because he’s just about to start back work in the near future and doesn’t want to be away from their baby. fwiw it would take maybe two weekends to complete or four days during the week.

I said that’s fine no worries we can get someone else to do it and pay them.

Anyway, fast forward to this morning and she said in a whatsapp message that she’s really concerned about their financial situation. I responded and said that we had offered him quite a significant amount of work that would Have been well paid and he turned it down 🙈

She just responded and said “that’s not the point...”

WIBU to respond to say I’m not interested in listening to money woes when he’s turning down well paid work?

OP posts:
Margerine78 · 03/06/2020 10:17

I had a friend like that who used to plead poverty whilst walking out of really good jobs constantly with very little reason (we only had a friendship for a couple of years and she quit four jobs in that time whilst turning down hundreds as they were 'beneath her'). She preferred to live off other people **

I don't have the patience for people who moan about something they can change easily but don't. So I feel your frustration.

** Not saying your mate blags off others btw, this post just gave me flashbacks to my ex-friend who was a nightmare in this respect!

StoppinBy · 03/06/2020 10:24

@R1R2 it did cross my mind as he can't very well do a cashie and sign off with a certificate to say he did the work at the same time but then I considered that the OP said her friend gave a different answer so I assumed that if it was for that reason then he would have just said so?

PunishmentSnart · 03/06/2020 10:39

Am I missing something aren’t the people being furloughed getting paid normal or at least 80% of their wage?

Anyway, I have met so many people like this. Moan at everything, even when offered solutions to make things easier/better. I don’t think people realise how draining it is. I wouldn’t cut off a long-standing friendship for it but acquaintances or colleagues like this I actively avoid. It’s hard to explain unless you come into contact with them but it’s like a dread when they catch you to chat because you have to be polite and listen while they drain the life out of you.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 03/06/2020 14:01

Anyway, I have met so many people like this. Moan at everything, even when offered solutions to make things easier/better. I don’t think people realise how draining it is.

Oh, the energy vampires are exhausting. They say a problem shared is a problem halved, but the idea behind that concept is that two people can then pool their brains and work together to find the best solution. If you offload your woes on to a victim but then refuse any practical help or suggestions that they offer, all you've done is to give them an unshiftable burden for no reason whatsoever. Well, they can shift the burden, but only by also shifting the person whose burden it is as a friend....

R1R2 · 03/06/2020 16:37

@threatmatrix Who would use a unregistered electrician? literally thousands of homeowners throughout the UK.

FelicisNox · 03/06/2020 19:00

I agree with @thehop.

Let her get on with it. She is either hinting at a bail out or she she wants sympathy.

Either way, if they were THAT hard up they would have accepted your kind offer.

The baby is 3 months old, if it was 3 weeks old I could see his point. He's just lazy.

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