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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Money obsessed husband

106 replies

Goldie678 · 05/03/2024 08:04

My partner has plenty of money, through savings/inheritance/hard work etc. Our finances are completely separate. We don't have a joint account or any joint names on anything. I work full time and earn my own money. I'm fine with this. My issue is that he is completely obsessed with money and making savings wherever possible. He talks about it endlessly and all the various savings accounts he has and what APR they are and all this stuff (to be honest I just switch off). It bleeds into every area of life, from not wanting the heating on when it's freezing, to eating cheap food or only things that have reduced stickers on. I buy all my own stuff. What annoys me is the comments I get for buying things that I've paid for with MY OWN MONEY. it makes me feel very guilty! We don't do anything simple together such as go for a coffee as he just moans about the cost and it ruins it. He has on occasion taken his own drinks to the pub and I find it excruciatingly embarrassing. I am not one for wasting money and I would completely understand if he was hard up but he isn't. I don't ask him for a penny for anything ever. Am I being unreasonable in this really being hard to live with? I liked his sensible attitude to money when we met but it seems to have turned into an obsession and I don't know what to do about it. I have tried to talk about it and find out what the cause is but it doesn't stop and I don't think he recognises it. I am not saying I expect to be blowing money all the time as I am quite frugal myself and don't need a lot, it's just a drain when someone asks you all the time what you have in your savings and why have you bought this/that etc. Its affected me in that I now feel guilty and question everything about what I spend and actually feel quite anxious about it all. It drives me mad.

OP posts:
Tel12 · 05/03/2024 09:09

p1ppyL0ngstocking · 05/03/2024 08:36

The most expensive thing that man could ever do is get divorced.

Maybe it's time to remind him of that.

Unhappy women divorce their husbands and he's not making you happy, so does he realise he'll lose 50% of everything he has if he doesn't change?

They don't seem to be married. This guy is never going to get married for the very reasons you quote.

ssd · 05/03/2024 09:26

I see money as safety in a world where i don't have much. I love spending it on coffees and the odd meal out now and then but we bought something we desperately needed last year at £1500 and i was surprised at how vulnerable it made me feel spending it. I just feel once the money goes there's no back up and that's the scary bit.
But your dh sounds far worse op, i couldn't live like that.

determinedtomakethiswork · 05/03/2024 09:26

These relationships never work well. People like him see everything in terms of money and what people are costing him so if you stay with him you can look forward to more of the same. I would cut and run.

Imagine having a baby with a man like that? He would be trying to get the cheapest possible childcare. He would make you pay 5050 right through maternity leave. He would query the food and milk you were buying for the baby. he would resent every nappy you paid for and he would want you to cut down on baths for the baby. It would be absolutely utterly miserable.

RoseNy · 05/03/2024 09:29

Well we are all watching our pennies but taken to that extreme and if he's well off it sounds like more of a mental health issue.

^Quite possibly. Hyperfixation is most often associated with ADHD, but it can be a symptom of several different mental health conditions, including: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or even Schizophrenia ( rare ).

Do we have to diagnose everyone? Maybe, just maybe, he is a greedy miserable fucker?

Nanny0gg · 05/03/2024 09:34

Goldie678 · 05/03/2024 08:04

My partner has plenty of money, through savings/inheritance/hard work etc. Our finances are completely separate. We don't have a joint account or any joint names on anything. I work full time and earn my own money. I'm fine with this. My issue is that he is completely obsessed with money and making savings wherever possible. He talks about it endlessly and all the various savings accounts he has and what APR they are and all this stuff (to be honest I just switch off). It bleeds into every area of life, from not wanting the heating on when it's freezing, to eating cheap food or only things that have reduced stickers on. I buy all my own stuff. What annoys me is the comments I get for buying things that I've paid for with MY OWN MONEY. it makes me feel very guilty! We don't do anything simple together such as go for a coffee as he just moans about the cost and it ruins it. He has on occasion taken his own drinks to the pub and I find it excruciatingly embarrassing. I am not one for wasting money and I would completely understand if he was hard up but he isn't. I don't ask him for a penny for anything ever. Am I being unreasonable in this really being hard to live with? I liked his sensible attitude to money when we met but it seems to have turned into an obsession and I don't know what to do about it. I have tried to talk about it and find out what the cause is but it doesn't stop and I don't think he recognises it. I am not saying I expect to be blowing money all the time as I am quite frugal myself and don't need a lot, it's just a drain when someone asks you all the time what you have in your savings and why have you bought this/that etc. Its affected me in that I now feel guilty and question everything about what I spend and actually feel quite anxious about it all. It drives me mad.

YABU

Why are you with this life- and joy-sucker?

You're paying for yourself.

Leave

(Sorry, didn't mean to quote)

determinedtomakethiswork · 05/03/2024 09:53

Are you married to him? You call him your partner but in the title you suggest you're married.

p1ppyL0ngstocking · 05/03/2024 10:02

@Tel12 the title of the post is about her money obsessed husband, so I'm assuming they are married, although she does refer to him as her "partner" in the OP 🤷‍♀️

It doesn't seem like partner is an accurate word to describe the relationship though.

Blueblell · 05/03/2024 10:08

I know someone like this and it will ruin your life. Lots of money in the bank but just not allowed to enjoy a single thing.

Cakeandcardio · 05/03/2024 10:21

There's a massive difference between being sensible / saving for a rainy day and just wasting your life constantly obsessing about money. I think you really need to think about what you want from life as you don't sound very happy.

Redshoeblueshoe · 05/03/2024 10:30

What an arse. I'm amazed he's not been kicked out of the pub. Don't his mates take the piss out of him ?

GoldSloth · 05/03/2024 11:06

Exactly this. Life’s to short to be miserable

TotalAbsenceOfImperialRaiment · 05/03/2024 11:25

He sounds absolutely infuriating. And if you have separate finances, why is he even asking you about your savings or expenditure? Tell him to bog off and live with his money, since he obviously loves it far more than he will ever love you or any human being.

zaxxon · 05/03/2024 11:32

blankittyblank · 05/03/2024 08:35

Actually I was very dismissive of how annoying my dad was, but you're totally right. It's obviously a psychological thing which needs addressing.

Exactly. Everyone's saying "he's greedy, he's obsessed" etc, but I think you've got to recognise that this is not really about money.

He has taken all his anxieties and deflected them onto his bank balance, because it's too painful and scary to feel those feelings about the things he's actually anxious about.

Money - unlike human relationships - is something he feels he can control.

RoseNy · 05/03/2024 11:44

@zaxxon

Exactly. Everyone's saying "he's greedy, he's obsessed" etc, but I think you've got to recognise that this is not really about money.

I don't have to recognise your opinion though. I am allowed to think it is indeed about money. You are welcome to think otherwise.

He has taken all his anxieties and deflected them onto his bank balance, because it's too painful and scary to feel those feelings about the things he's actually anxious about.

Awww poor wee soldier

zaxxon · 05/03/2024 11:48

The big giveaway is that, as OP says, he's got plenty of money already. He doesn't need to be so neurotic about it - but all that fear is coming from somewhere.

Therealjudgejudy · 05/03/2024 11:54

He sounds totally miserable to be around. Do you live together op?

L0bstersLass · 05/03/2024 11:58

What joy does he bring to your life? How often?

jay55 · 05/03/2024 12:24

So what's the point?
Is the sex terrific?
The chat clearly isn't.

Because if you can't go out, unless it's free, you might as well be single,

Beautiful3 · 05/03/2024 12:26

My brother is similar to your partner. After many years, his partner left him because of it. He was so miserly with money, the children never got to go anywhere. On his income, they could have afforded day trips, clubs and one holiday abroad each year. When his 2 eldest left school, he found them jobs and demanded a high rent from them. It was cheaper for them to move out! He even found a weekend waitressing job for the 15 year old, but she ended up leaving because she didn't have much left over after rent. Life's too precious to waste too many years unhappy. Just leave him, you're worth so much more.

ImCamembertTheBigCheese · 05/03/2024 12:28

Why do you put up with him? He is tight and a mood hoover. Both incredible turn offs.

CantGetDecentNickname · 05/03/2024 12:29

So I'm diagnosing him as a miser. It is as if money is his God. I don't think there is a cure.

Seen people like that and they get worse and worse as they get older.

If you enjoy living in a freezing, damp home while they save on the heating and watching your DC miss out on activities and never going anywhere, then stay with him. I would advise you to leave so you can live your life, as he wants you to just exist.

SquishyBeanBag · 05/03/2024 12:32

Divorce him and take 50% of everything he has got

ColadhSamh · 05/03/2024 12:43

When will he have enough and start enjoying all his savings?
He can't bring it with him in the coffin or to the grave. Who stands to.inherit? They will have a great time enjoying his money.
A friend whose husband saved every penny and wouldn't let her spend is now having a ball. He died fairly young and left her very well off. She has spent a fortune already and has plenty left. She has had a complete makeover done on her house, top.of the range car and regular holidays.

Nori10 · 05/03/2024 13:17

Oh I couldn't be with someone like this. Life's really too short. He's placed waaaay too much importance on money and it's sad.

I think you should just bluntly tell him that it's not an attractive quality and you worry he has his priorities in life wrong. As a bare minimum, you need to tell him to keep his opinions to himself over how you spend your money.

Geebray · 05/03/2024 13:21

zaxxon · 05/03/2024 11:32

Exactly. Everyone's saying "he's greedy, he's obsessed" etc, but I think you've got to recognise that this is not really about money.

He has taken all his anxieties and deflected them onto his bank balance, because it's too painful and scary to feel those feelings about the things he's actually anxious about.

Money - unlike human relationships - is something he feels he can control.

Hmm. Just like hoarding isn't about mess or clutter, you mean? But something deeper.

And in a way, he is hoarding money. It is affecting his life - and yours.