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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Husband resents me for debt

999 replies

wishes1111 · 02/02/2021 14:35

Hello

I'll try and explain as briefly as possible.

I was raised by my grandparents and lost them both within 3 years or each other to cancer (in their 60s). I've also had 6 miscarriages during and since.

I have been on antidepressants since age 14 and have a history of anxiety too.

My coping mechanism was to spend, I took loans out, ordered clothes, things I didn't need and racked up nearly £8000 in debt, exchanging my utter sadness and despair for temporary happiness.

After 2 years of paying the minimum payments, I realised I couldn't hide it anymore, interest was rising and I was struggling to cope and was losing the battle of keeping my head above water.

I earn £24,000 a year, my husband earns £40,000.

I admitted it all during a breakdown, he was angry and sad that I'd done this and especially since I'd hid it from him. I fully understood this and took responsibility for my actions. I entered a payment plan with stepchange and have kept up with payments over the past couple of years and it's slowly but surely reducing. I'm paying this myself, as well as £550 for my half of rent and £30 for my phone. The rest, I use for birthday presents, diesel, car insurance and tax and I'm left with little per month. I've also cleared my overdraft in this time.

I have taken no further loans out since entering my plan with stepchange.

My problem is, my Husband resents me for this. He is a saver, he won't spend unless he has to and he saves what he can (which is a good thing). I've tried my hardest to turn my life around and take responsibility.

He said he will resent me until it's all paid off which will be another couple of years. Some days he is lovely, others it's like he's punishing me for my mistakes. Digs here and there, cold towards me, brings up what I did.

I can't even explain how much I regret doing this but I can't live like this. If I have £10 left for the last week of the month and I need to get something such as tampons or some lunch stuff for work , he tells me to sort it out myself. I understand I'm not his responsibility but this is wearing me down.

He has more than enough in savings to clear my debt. I don't expect him to do that but know in a heartbeat I would do it for him if I knew it was weighing on his shoulders, adding anxiety to his life and and he'd made an effort to change.

I feel I can't go on this way, but when he's in a nice mood I love him so much, when he's in his resentful mood he makes me feel low and like he'll never move past it.

I'm waffling, I don't expect people to think he's in the wrong, I get it.

I guess I'm just hoping for a hand hold whilst suffering my latest miscarriage, dealing with a resentful husband and trying my hardest to not fall back into a deep depression x

OP posts:
PandemicAtTheDisco · 03/02/2021 15:12

I think your credit rating might be much better than you expect. You've so far done very well and kept on top of your debt management plan.

ItsNotAlrightButItsOkay · 03/02/2021 15:18

I am so sorry for what you have been through Op. Everyone has different coping mechanisms. I am a lot like you. Every time something seemed to go wrong I would just spend on my credit card. It would eventually weigh me down. I was keeping it from my husband too, always on edge and anxious. I wouldn't have even told him (although I'm glad I did) if It wasn't for having to own up after selling our home and getting a bigger mortgage.
I was 4k in debt and just miserable. He's like your husband In that he is good with money & saves. He cleared my debt immediately. Didnt make me feel bad about it. He won't even let me pay it back to this day. I haven't made that mistake again.
I'm actually managing to save, which I never thought I could.

A spreadsheet is a good start. Well done for going to stepchange. It was probably daunting but you're on your way to a debt free life.

billybagpuss · 03/02/2021 15:20

You've done so well OP, so many times on here we have similar and the relationship suffers so badly as a result to make it untenable, but you've had a difficult conversation and are putting proper ideas into action to try and solve it. Just think by the time you go to Cyprus you will only have a matter of months left

Mix56 · 03/02/2021 15:31

I agree re household shopping. Also, you may discover once the finances are down on paper, that had they been farer, you might have had some money over to spend on a haircut etc when you were depressed & never have had to go into debt in the first place ..,,( dont hesitate to point this out to him if it it proves to be case)

toocold54 · 03/02/2021 15:32

I can completely understand him not wanting you to have access to the joint account. But how is this going to work in 2 years time or 10 years time, what if you have children?

I am glad you’re talking through it and it does sound like he has a lot of grief to deal with but I can’t see this ever getting better because surely it will always be in the back of his mind and then you will become resentful that he’s living in the past.

Cheeseandwin5 · 03/02/2021 15:33

I have seen a number of posts where complaints have been made about DH poor financial situation either by wastefulness or by gambling and I have never seen one message saying that the DW was wrong for not helping to sort out the problem, let alone the number I have seen here. Normally the advise is to kick the DH out. I am truly amazed.
I wonder why none of these posters have ever revealed this attitude on other posts???

Anyway OP, just because you are sorry and are doing things to change your behaviour, doesn't mean your DH should automatically assume you are now fine. Trust once destroyed needs time to grow again and its up to you to prove yourself. He has believed your lies over years, so how can he know you are telling the truth now.
You need to carry on being honest and prudent and realise that this situation is down to you not him.

Bookwords · 03/02/2021 15:38

@Cheeseandwin5 on those posts did the women admit to their Dhs having been "clean" for two years, did they admit to constantly giving them a hard time, did they admit to telling them they'd remain the same for the following two years. Did they admit to refusing to buy basic sanitary items for around £2 for what is effectively a medical requirement (OP has endometriosis).

I think the above may be the answers, why OP is getting the answers she's got.

wishes1111 · 03/02/2021 15:43

@Cheeseandwin5 I show him my stepchange statement every month. Not sure what else I can do than that to prove I'm keeping up repayments and haven't missed a single one.

OP posts:
wishes1111 · 03/02/2021 15:44

@toocold54 if we survive this, hopefully in 10 years this will be over and he'd trust me again.

OP posts:
WagnerTheWehrWolf · 03/02/2021 15:45

Ignore them, OP.

wishes1111 · 03/02/2021 15:46

@Cheeseandwin5 I also did not gamble. Have never been a gambler, or a drinker or a drug user. I went through a mental health crisis with little to no support.

OP posts:
toocold54 · 03/02/2021 15:48

OP can you clarify please:
A lot of posters are saying that he refuses to give you money for sanitary items but I read it as he doesn’t like you having free access to the joint account (which you’ve said you do have as he checks the online bank). So which is it?

If he doesn’t give you £2 to buy sanitary products and expects you to go without them until you get paid - that’s sick and I’d be leaving immediately.

But if he doesn’t give you the card to the joint account and instead hands the money over - then I’d say he was sensible and I can understand more why you haven’t left yet.

BaileysforBreakfast · 03/02/2021 16:00

I show him my stepchange statement every month.

What would happen if you didn't? I would find this sort of thing very demeaning.

Wotsitsarecheesy · 03/02/2021 16:05

@wishes1111, a spreadsheet is a great idea. I have kept a household finances spreadsheet since I had my first computer in the 90s. Everything goes in there, categorised into broad topics, so i can see how our spending changes over time. It made me realise, for intsance, that sometimes, my various "nipping to the co-op for a few bits" shops, actually added up to almost as much as my "big weekly" shop at Tescos. I would have guessed these were less than half of what I was actually spending.

Putting everything down on a spreadsheet makes it really clear. But it all needs to be based on reality - what you are actually spending, not what you 'think' you are spending. This is why I never pay in cash for anything - if it's on a card (debit or credit) then I have a record of it on my statement. So get all those statements out and make sure that everything that is on them gets onto that spreadsheet. If you usually pay cash for things, this will be harder to look back, but you can still start to keep a record going forward. Save all your receipts. Write down absolutely everything you spend for a full month, to get an accurate picture. Then get that budgeting spreadsheet updated with your new info. And then, ideally, keep doing it, even once you have your budget, so you can tell if/when things change. Prices do go up and down (but mostly up), so to stay fair, you need to make sure your budget remains accuate.

I think this is the same link that a pp posted, but it contains some really good advice and a detailed budget spreadsheet that doesn't miss anything (the tabs for you to fill in are along the bottom - I didn't spot them at first).

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/

Your ongoing records don't need to be this complex, but it's incredibly useful to do this periodically. Just make sure that if you aren't paying for things on a card, that you keep all your receipts so you can carry on keeping that proper record of everything you spend.

It's really positive that he has suggested a spreadsheet - it shows he is serious in wanting to get this sorted out. Like grimsisters said, I think it could be him that has the wake up call. I really do wish you all the best.

tiredybear · 03/02/2021 17:20

I am so pleased to hear your update OP. Communication really is the key to a good relationship and it sounds like you both really want to make it work. Good luck.

Also, please stop engaging with the trolls. Some people will find any excuse to make another person feel bad. You do not have to justify yourself to anyone on here. Don't let them get to you.

Griselda1 · 03/02/2021 17:36

It's easily understandable why you got into debt and you're managing the payments. I'm puzzled at all the guilt and confession references, you're an adult with autonomy.I'd be worried that he'll beat you over the head with this for the rest of your life and would consider leaving him to be honest.

Roastednotsalt · 03/02/2021 17:39

@Griselda1

It's easily understandable why you got into debt and you're managing the payments. I'm puzzled at all the guilt and confession references, you're an adult with autonomy.I'd be worried that he'll beat you over the head with this for the rest of your life and would consider leaving him to be honest.
This. OPs DH is free to leave if it’s too much for him. Rather than chastise OP on going it’s not right at all.
MenoMom · 03/02/2021 17:58

I think he's being quite cruel to you - he's decided to resent you for anothet two years, so to punish you for 2 more years. You did something foolish because you were really sad, and he doesn't want to understand, or forgive you or let it go. As others have already said, he'll get used to this power imbalance, there'll be something else he won't be able to forgive. He sounds very unkind.

I think couple counselling is the way to go. He doesn't sound like he's still the man you met and married.

DeusEx · 03/02/2021 18:52

OP, stop replying to the trolls - there are some proper monsters on here.

MessAllOver · 03/02/2021 19:13

OP, some people are being vile to you. You made a mistake, you're sorting it and you've moved on. Your DH has had plenty of time to come to terms with what happened and now he has two choices: move on and get over it or leave the relationship. Don't live any more of your life letting him make you miserable... you've done so well so far and there's light at the end of the tunnel. He needs to get past his resentment or ship out.

Honeyroar · 03/02/2021 19:33

Good luck. It sounds good that you’ve had a chat about how to move forward. You’re right- you’ve both been through the mill and need to pull together to get things back on track.

2020iscancelled · 03/02/2021 19:53

@wishes1111

I’ve been thinking about your post since yday and reading your replies today, you sound like a really decent genuine person.

You sound like you made some bad choices and have now owned up to them and put lots of actions in place to not only rectify but to stop it happening again.

I think some of the stick you are getting on here is totally unnecessary and down right nasty.

To me you sound like someone who had a very tough time and suffered a lot of grief in a short period of time. Grief does strange things to us and anyone who has experienced real loss will empathise with just how much it can affect your personality, I know from recent experience that I completely lost myself through grief for a while and it has taken almost a year to work through the worst of it. I didn’t develop a spending habit but I did have a very very bad anger problem.

I’m gonna be honest - £8k worth of debt isn’t even THAT bad. Yes I know it’s not the amount but the breech of trust your partner will resent and the impact it has on your life together. But you didn’t run up £50k of gambling debt or secretly sell the house from under him.

I know that he will feel resentful and he has a right to - but when you decide to forgive someone, you cannot then use it to flog them with QS and when you choose. That is both immature and cruel.
If he chose to stay with you in my opinion he gave up the option of holding onto the anger - because it will simply eat away at the relationship and your trust in him. Because he’s told you that he forgives you (by staying together) and then beats you with it. You can’t trust someone like that.

He needs to rebuild his trust in you of course but that will be done through you sticking to your word. And it looks like you are and he has no reason to keep throwing it in your face.

It sounds like from your updates he is realising this and is going to try to stop. I think this is really important, he doesn’t get the right to lord it over you forever because of some mistakes you made. It doesn’t matter how bad he sees them to be, when he said he wanted to stay together then he has to accept and reconcile himself with them.

Please don’t continue to flog yourself, worst things happen at sea. You live and learn. Flowers

rosinavera · 03/02/2021 20:29

@Ivyr0se

You are doing yourself no favours thinking of this as financial abuse. You have a spending addiction. If he gave you money he would be enabling you.

It is not financial abuse. He covers 2/3 of the rent and all the larger bills. £100 disposable income each month is actually very lucky, a lot of people don't have anything near that.

You husband is struggling too.

Sorry for your losses. Counselling often makes things feel worse but it helps you learn healthy coping mechanisms that will benefit you in the long term.

Read the thread - OP does NOT have a a spending addiction!!!
Imworthit · 03/02/2021 20:53

@Idontknowausername

I think he’s entirely within his right to resent you. You’re lucky he’s stayed with you tbh. I don’t think many women on here would stay with their husbands if the roles were reversed.
£8000 on a £60,000 a year income. Seriously he’s psycho as fuck to leave her with a tenner. Could have wrote the debt off on her own. Been better off than being shamed. I have £4000 debt from uni, just asked if I could repaint the hall (money would be out of the wedding fund) of course he said yes. £8000 not that much on that wage he’s just a prick
Imworthit · 03/02/2021 20:58

[quote wishes1111]@toocold54 if we survive this, hopefully in 10 years this will be over and he'd trust me again.[/quote]
Ten years hunni? Did you lie about it or did he just not ask...that makes a hell of a difference