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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

name changer with relationship problem

289 replies

sweepitundertherug · 05/10/2011 14:41

Sorry if this is jumbled, I can think it all in my head, but getting it into words is harder!
My husband is odd with money. This is the crux of the problems. He wouldn't see that there are any problems. As far as he's concerned he pays "housekeeping" Hmm into the joint account & if I ask he'll put some more in there. He KNOWS I hate asking for money & I budget really well. Recently he put up the "housekeeping" by £50 a month. I am very aware that I don't may the mortgage/bills btw & aware we have no debts. So I am lucky in that respect.
On the money he gives I pay for everything for the 5 of us. I am quite frugal and I am not bothered by material things so in a way he doesn't realise how much real life costs. The last few months I've had heavy spends but I needed 2 full sets of uniform from scratch, 2 of the children had growth spurts & all 3 needed winter coats.
Due to new schools I have the extra expenses of school lunches daily, bus fares & extra diesel costs.
I don't have any money for me really. My clothes are tatty.
I really felt this on the weekend. We all went shopping. I got the children their winter clothes & a few bits of underwear they needed. DH spent over £200 on 2 jumpers & 2 shirts. He does his clothes from his own money btw.
I don't have enough money in my budget for anything for me.
On the drive there, DH was saying about the spending & then pointed out that my weekend away in July has been really expensive. It was £200 for me & the 3 kids. He was away with work & if he'd been around then he could have had the kids & I could have stayed with friends. As it is, I never ever do anything as I can't arrange anything due to his job & his travelling. Not to mention weekends taken up with sport when he is around. So this one time, I thought sod it, I'm going. I don't think he really liked that anyway but ffs, this weekend he's off ABROAD for a football game. Going early Sun & back late Weds. Also he's managed to arrange something without his work getting in the way. Hmm

Now, dh isn't stingy. It's hard to describe him really. If the kids need clothes, they get them & he wouldn't have me buying the clothes from cheap shops. Their clothes mainly come from Next, M&S or Debenhams. His clothes are labels with the odd basics from M&S/Debenhams.

He gave me £500 earlier in April. It's gone. Basically got some clothes for summer, jeans as all mine were wearing thin & got some creams/make up. Also if I went for lunch or something.

He earns a very good wage. But he can't wait for me to go back to work. I don't work now after having No3 as childcare would have wiped me out. I paid for childcare for the other 2 in the holidays. He says we will afford much more when I'm working. I was earning about £600pm. OK better than nothing but hardly pays the mortgage! He basically saved while I was working. He can still afford to save now btw. He is OBSESSED with saving. I appreciate he wants to save for university/old age but tbh it's at the expense of having a life now. Well, if I'm honest, it's only me that doesn't have a life. He does, he goes to football games etc...I feel bad "wanting" money as I'm taking away from my kids future.

To go back to the very start of our relationship, it was equal, we were both working & when we got the house we split the bills equally percentage wise from our wages. Then we moved abroad for his work. How naive (sp) I was. We didn't have a penny when we went over. We basically saved. All his salary when I worked & when I wasn't then we spent as little as possible. No joint accounts either. Stupidly.

We didn't have a joint account till I stopped work after dc3. I thought it would be a proper joint account but it's just an account he pays money in for me that he can keep an eye on.

Occasionally he gets voucher bonuses from work. He'll give me half but give me less housekeeping. This really annoys me but he can't see anything wrong with it.

He is hard to talk to as he has the knack of making me feel a bit stupid.

Our relationship is fine so long as I don't bring up the money issues. I did a few months ago & he said "oh you'd have us living out our older years in a council house" I was furious & really upset about that & then he claimed he was joking. I grew up in a council house btw.

I don't have expensive tastes at all. Labels mean nothing to me. I am a frugal cook. I got a sack of spuds on the weekend for £5.50. You know, I watch the pennies.

I keep all this buried & most of the time I am "happy". I feel jealous though after the weeekend. Childish I know but my kids & dh look fine & have lovely clothes. Mine get tatty & just get replaced when I can justify it.

I am sorry this is so long. I have to get this off my chest. My chest is really tight today.

Thank you for reading. Much appreciated.

OP posts:
LizaTarbucksNonSmokingAuntie · 24/10/2011 08:55

Wow sweep lots to err... consider there.

Might be worth starting a new thread if you wish to, as this may have gone slightly off your point.

I'd only come back to see how you were doing over the weekend, hope it's all ok with you. I'd appreciate a link to a new thread if it's already started.
Be kind to yourself.

TheOriginalFAB · 24/10/2011 09:03

JFYI I reported ionysis's post as I felt there were not helpful to the OP but they wouldn't delete them.

ionysis · 24/10/2011 09:04

What does that tell you?

AlpinePony · 24/10/2011 09:57

It tells us that bullying, belittling people exist everywhere - not just within the confines of marriage and containing male chromosomes. :)

TheOriginalFAB · 24/10/2011 10:00

"Hi there, Thanks for getting in touch. We understand your concern, but unfortunately we don't delete posts based on strong opinion only as we believe in free speech. We don't tolerate personal attacks though so please do report any you see. "

It doesnt tell me anything good about you. You are not helping the OP. Why would you not do the decent thing and leave the thread?

LizaTarbucksNonSmokingAuntie · 24/10/2011 10:00

ionysis, honestly you're coming off a bit heavy handed now, like you sort of insist on having the last word which is kind of childish on a support thread.

There are probably no points to be scored in this situation where the OP is really unhappy and having plucked up the courage to get started on making changes. There's no 'glory' in anyone being right in this situation because the thing that matters is that the OP asked for help.

Your continued insistence on dominating this thread rather than having a little grace and not needing to do what you did above is coming off as a little bit like you're making this all about you and with the greatest of respect, it's not.

ionysis · 24/10/2011 10:06

Thats quite valid Liza, I just object to being told my posts are abusive or attacking when quite clearly they are not otherwise they would have been deleted. I'll respectfully bow out regardless of continued provocation.

Becaroooo · 24/10/2011 10:19

Havent read all the thread, so I apologise if this has been addressed already, but wtf do you do if you have no choice??

I am a SAHM and - most of the time - love it. But our family finances are like this and it drives me NUTS.

Money is the only thing dh and I argue about and its so depressing Sad

I would love to go back to work p/t but with a ds1 with sen (I do all his therapies with him and extra work) and a 3 year old ds2 its going to be 2 years til I can do it, when ds2 starts school.

Dh will think nothing of booking a trip abroad with his friends costing ££££'s (in fact has just booked a trip costing £500!) but if I/dc want/need something its like I have to explain why....surely everyone understands dc need good shoes/a school uniform etc???

Is there really no hope? Will it never change???

He is a decent man. He loves us, but his attitude to money makes me miserable and I am starting to lose respect for him Sad

ItsMeAndMyPumpkinNow · 24/10/2011 10:25

wtf do you do if you have no choice??

What other choices might you have, Becaroo even difficult ones other than the same old, same old?

Is there really no hope? Will it never change???

You can't change his behaviour, but you can change your own. What could you do differently?

Becaroooo · 24/10/2011 10:28

I dont know pumpkin I really dont. I am probably at fault too....

ItsMeAndMyPumpkinNow · 24/10/2011 10:36

When I said "what could you do differently" I wasn't implying you were at fault, Becaroo. I'm just literally asking you to think what you could do differently. Since following the same behaviour will get the same result as before, then if you want a different result, what different action could you take?

eg. can you pull him up on his spending? Can the two of you organise finances differently? Can you cease justifying why you need household spending money, and just make it clear that you need X amount because running the house requires it that month, and that's your lookout in the division of responsibilities you have going? Can you do your sums and see if you could work part-time and hire help for DS1 when you are working? Can you see with CAB what benefits you would have as a single parent, so that you know what "choice" you do have?

pictish · 24/10/2011 11:01

Cripes Ionysis I see you on another thread about a controlling, suffocating man on here, pedalling out the same advice as you give here.

Bit of a theme with you isn't it? Hmm

sweepitundertherug · 24/10/2011 11:05

Crikey.

OP posts:
ionysis · 24/10/2011 11:09

The thread where I suggested she might want to try to find out why is he is like that before kicking him to the curb? God forbid anyone should make an effort to find out the underlying problem before simply dumping a guy's ass... (that wasn't aimed at you sweepitundertherug, I have been told by your friends that you've made huge efforts to do just that).

pictish · 24/10/2011 11:19

That's the one, yeah.

LizaTarbucksNonSmokingAuntie · 24/10/2011 11:24

nice retiring from the thread, maybe we can move the bunfight elsewhere?

verlainechasedrimbauds · 24/10/2011 11:44

Pictish, it's not helping the OP on this thread (which is what you clearly would like to do) if you prolong the difference of opinion with ionysis by bringing in what she has said on another thread - Liza - you're prolonging it too!

foolonthehill · 24/10/2011 11:50

Hi sweep how are you doing??...crikey is right...!!!

Becaroooo · 24/10/2011 12:30

pumpkin I think we def need to do that! thanks for the advice x

BoffinMum · 24/10/2011 12:38

I will ignore any kicking off in this thread and respond to the OP.

I think he needs to go shopping for family things more, as he seems to be losing touch with the real cost of living (so easily done, and a mistake a lot of blokes make), and you need to find a way of earning some pin money for yourself, even if that is agency babysitting one night a week while he holds the fort back home, or making curtains or fixing computers for friends from home or something.

You might also want to keen a household cashbook for a couple of months, and convert it into spreadsheet form to present to him at some point, as a way of emphasising that things have got somewhat unbalanced between you.

LesserOfTwoWeevils · 24/10/2011 12:45

Pin money? Shock
Sorry, didn't realise this was a thread from 1951.
BoffinMum, have you read the whole thread? The money issue is just a symptom.

BoffinMum · 24/10/2011 13:14

I do appreciate that - but wonder if I read thread in enough detail now - was trying to do it whilst multitasking. He sounds like a 1951 husband so a 1951 approach would be the way forward, I thought. Maybe I am wrong ...

MrsHoarder · 24/10/2011 13:17

sweep I don't know if you're sitll reading after the last bunfight, but if you are then take into account that by July at £10/month you will have saved £100. If you get more than that in housekeeping then you might as well take the cash as soon as it hits the "joint" account and use that instead.

You only need to survive a few weeks on it, then the benefit system will help you out, so if you can scrape a deposit for a small flat from that then do so. Will your family lend you the cash until you're back on your feet and earning?

BoffinMum · 24/10/2011 13:19

Oops

warthog · 24/10/2011 13:27

MrsHoarder, i think she's trying to save £10 and when she leaves clear the joint account. Makes it quite a bit more.