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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Credit card bill

199 replies

Creditcardshame · 29/12/2021 17:51

I am not sure if AIBU or not here.

We have a good income - DH is the main earner and I work PT. All the money goes into one pot and all the bills and savings come out, we then have our own accounts into which our personal spending money is paid. Our expenditure is quite high because we recently moved house and had some work to do on it. We are not on the breadline.

The savings are joint but DH keeps a close eye on them and I have to get his agreement to transfer any out.

DH has always had more personal spending money because he had more expenses - travel to work, lunches etc whereas I have always WFH. He has WFH since March 2020 but still gets £150 a month more than me.

However, I spend a lot of "my" money on the kids - a magazine, a hot chocolate after swimming, that kind of thing. I also spend my money if our joint account is a bit light.

I set some money aside for Christmas each month out of my spends usually as DH goes mad at the amount I spend. When I stopped buying for his side of the family he agreed with them not to bother with presents anymore, although he does still buy for his mum (which this year was something from Amazon and he used my account). This means the only other present he buys is for me and that is about £50.

I had to use most of my Christmas fund of £600 in November because we had to get an emergency plumber out for a leak. I used my credit card to buy presents etc instead as our joint account was also practically bare - bad month for things needing to be paid out plus DH spent an absolute fortune on the Christmas food (I guess around £500).

My credit card bill is £800 and DH has hit the roof. This breaks down to about £150 on the DC (including things like a Christmas jumper, new Christmas pyjamas etc), £200 on my sister and her family (there are 4 kids), £120 on the Christmas tree, some decorations, stocking Knick knacks and 24 Christmas crackers (we had both of our families over during the Christmas period) we also needed a new table cloth as we have a new table, £90 on presents for his 3 team members (yes, I buy them 🙄), his mum's present £40, my mum and step dad £100 (who do an enormous amount for us in terms of childcare), £40 for my dad and a wine order for £90, there were also small bits like postage for cards abroad.

I had to set out what each item was and who it was for. He says he will only give me £130 towards it for his mum and team (I have also suggested he will need to split the kids' presents and the wine but he is grumbling that he did not "authorise" these payments). It will take me about 3 months to clear the rest and leave me with about £50 a month to spend. Meanwhile we have £20k in savings.

I don't actually think I have spent more than usual, it's just that I usually cover it without any input from him from my personal spends.

OP posts:
Bagelsandbrie · 29/12/2021 20:34

Only on Mumsnet is £20k in savings considered a “sensible amount”. Most families can only dream of having £20k in savings! Hmm He can (well, they can, seeing as it’s joint savings) certainly afford to pay of the £800 - which is apparently what they would have spent on Christmas anyway- without so much as blinking.

Pallisers · 29/12/2021 20:35

He is financially abusive
Tight as hell
And not very nice to you.

What are his good qualities?

For the moment pay yourself back for the plumber from the joint saving and tell him to fuck off if he says anything to you (and yes I mean that). You paid to have heat and hot water in your home. You may have paid over the odds but the first one he signed off on made a mess of it so six of one half dozen of the other.

All christmas presents should be our of joint funds since he gets presents from those people too. Does he understand the favours your sister and mum and step dad do for you? Next time they mind the kids charge him for his half of the "babysitting" fee.

you have problems here OP. You have a mean husband who values money more than you.

Pallisers · 29/12/2021 20:36

OP has £300 every month to spend on luxuries, £50 of which she saves for Christmas presents, yet she ran up an £800 bill on her credit card on top of this.

Because she used her christmas fund to pay the plumber! Seriously do they not teach comprehension in schools anymore?

LittleBearPad · 29/12/2021 20:36

This is deeply dysfunctional.

Joint expenses = joint account. £4 on hot chocolate a week, who the fuck cares. Yes magazines are tat but children like them. He sounds deeply unpleasant.

SunshineCocktails · 29/12/2021 20:37

You spent £120 on a Christmas tree?! Confused

LittleBearPad · 29/12/2021 20:41

@SunshineCocktails

You spent £120 on a Christmas tree?! Confused
No

If you read the OP

£120 on the Christmas tree, some decorations, stocking Knick knacks and 24 Christmas crackers (we had both of our families over during the Christmas period) we also needed a new table cloth as we have a new table

Hmm
Bellsandwhistle · 29/12/2021 20:41

Honestly £120 on a tree and some crackers is bonkers and I’d be 🤔 if my DH spent that. I am def not up for a DH being tight but I don’t think this one is. He buys and cooks all their food. It doesn’t sound like he isn’t pulling his weight. Christmas presents should be out of joint IF you agree on how much to spend otherwise you have to suck up extra. My DH overspends on his lot - I’m not paying for that!

user1481840227 · 29/12/2021 20:42

Honestly £120 on a tree and some crackers is bonkers and I’d be 🤔 if my DH spent that.

That would be pretty hypocritical if you had spent £500 on the food shop!

Tilltheend99 · 29/12/2021 20:43

If he was treating all your savings as equal then you wouldn’t be getting into debt to buy things for the whole family at Christmas. Your husband sounds like an arse at best and financially abusive at worst.

TatianaBis · 29/12/2021 20:44

For those hard of reading:

£120 went on:

  • Tree
  • Decorations
  • Stocking presents
  • 24 Christmas crackers
  • Tablecloth
TatianaBis · 29/12/2021 20:45

@user1481840227

Honestly £120 on a tree and some crackers is bonkers and I’d be 🤔 if my DH spent that.

That would be pretty hypocritical if you had spent £500 on the food shop!

Indeed.
WarmWhiteXmasLights · 29/12/2021 20:48

OP, we split our money the same way (joint account with personal spends allocated to personal accounts) and we each dip into savings if we need it. We don’t ask each other for permission , but would mention if we’re taking a top-up (often after the fact).

I’d consider the behaviour of your husband to be abusive.

backtolifebacktoreality · 29/12/2021 20:49

Tell him to f* off!

PegasusReturns · 29/12/2021 20:51

@WonderfulYou

The OP gets £3600 to spend on, in your words, “luxuries”. £600 (17%) was spent on a plumber.

Another £490 went on household or his expenses.

Then she pays for hot chocolate every week and magazines every month. More family expenses. Let’s call this £320 per year.

Almost 40% of OPs “luxury” spend is on general household spend.

It’s not the OP that has an “issue”

YourWinter · 29/12/2021 20:54

Your DH "authorises" spending? On his children? On home repairs?

How on earth can you live like this? What a mean, controlling prick.

ChiefStockingStuffer · 29/12/2021 20:57

You're being financially abused. You'd potentially do better on your own with him having to stump up in child maintenance ... might be worth investigating. Get legal advice.

whynotwhatknot · 29/12/2021 20:57

why isnt he paying half of everything i dont get it-sounds like a tight arse

Clymene · 29/12/2021 20:57

He's financially abusive. What are you going to do about it?

user1487194234 · 29/12/2021 20:57

Who made him the boss
No way would I stand for that

Oblomov21 · 29/12/2021 20:59

You've got bigger problems that just this Christmas credit card bill. Hope he sees sense.

ivykaty44 · 29/12/2021 21:01

then you need to sit down and have equal shares of spending - not he has £1800 more per year

then the dc need pocket money for hot choclates and stuff after swimming etc

HunterGatherer · 29/12/2021 21:04

@user1487194234

Who made him the boss No way would I stand for that
She did. Sad

OP, you don't have to live like this.
Love doesn't keep tallies.
He is an arse and in all honesty, I couldn't live like this.

RedskyThisNight · 29/12/2021 21:04

to be fair it sounds like the £500 on food went on entertaining both sides of the family including the OP and DH's parents, siblings and their families, and possibly others as well (OP mentions needing 24 crackers). It does sound like it wasn't done in the cheapest possible way, but not the completely bonkers overspend that some are making it out to be.

Ourlady · 29/12/2021 21:05

What do you think about many people saying he is financially abusive (which he most definitely is) OP. You haven't addressed this here, you are just trying to justify your spending. Just take the credit card money put of the joint account and sod him the tight git!

hulahooper2 · 29/12/2021 21:08

He is very controlling , but I can’t believe you spent more on your sister and her kids than you did on your own dc