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He isn't skint.

1000 replies

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 09:32

NC for this as personal/outing. Am wondering AIBU? Or WWYD?

Began seeing a local man met on OLD. We matched so perfectly: same age, local, some mutual acquaintances, similar hobbies, outlook, politics, music taste, humour etc. Found him incredibly sexually and emotionally attractive and vice versa.

We became very close and cosy very quickly: daily contact, usually in person, in and out of each others' houses for coffee and a chat, sleeping over at each others houses often, meeting each other's friends and family. Talked loads, for hours, about a wide range of subjects and very frankly. Within weeks we were so close and comfortable with one another it felt like we'd been together for ages.

The only thing that wasn't perfect was that he had no spare spending money. He had gone part time at work to give him the time to renovate his house, singlehandedly, and those renovations also ate up all the money he had left over after paying mortgage and bills. He warned me that, until the house was finished and he returned to full time working, he could not afford to spend much on going out, going away, buying me gifts, unless it was cheap and we split the costs. I am not materialistic so I did not care and to be honest I am a homely person who is more than happy to have dates at each other's houses, cooking each other a meal or watching a film. For Xmas he saw something in a charity shop window which he knew I would love and he even admitted it had cost him only £2 and said he felt guilty and mean and sorry and hoped I would tolerate his being skint until he got back to work and could treat me properly and take me to a swanky restaurant now and again.

Whilst chatting and being in his home whilst things were happening in his daily life he would mention now and again that he was down to his last few pounds, or that the purchase of some essential building materials or an emergency dental problem or vet bill had wiped his bank account. I am not wealthy but I do have a couple of hundred pounds left over every month which I usually just put into a savings account. He never once asked me for money and in fact when I offered to lend him money once or twice he absolutely refused. When I offered to treat him to a fancy meal out or a theatre ticket he also refused, saying that unless he could pay at least his own share, he would not go. I saw these refusals as a confirmation of his honesty and integrity.

One day I was at his house reading the paper after breakfast and he was opposite me on his laptop. As he went to answer the front door I took the dirty plates to the sink and as I turned round to walk back to the table I could not help myself, my eyes were drawn to the screen which had some kind of spreadsheet of figures. I was absolutely staggered to see that he had stocks and shares and an ISA totalling £1.5m. When he came back into the room I just pretended I had not seen anything because I knew I should not have been snooping but I went home and was literally in shock and also really angry that he had been lying to me the whole time.

Next time I stayed at his I deliberately snooped when he was in the shower, and read an open letter about the sale of a flat he owned (which he had never mentioned to me). £250,000 from the sale had been deposited into my boyfriend's bank account about a week before, and yet that very day he had been saying how broke he was.

Am I in the wrong for snooping or is he in the wrong for telling me for a whole year the lie that he is struggling financially from month to month?

What would you do? Confront him and admit you snooped? End it? Tell yourself his finances are none of your business?

OP posts:
AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:48

Gigihadid · 19/10/2024 18:41

You’ve written about 50 very wordy responses on this thread and it doesn’t seem like you’ve actually got anywhere with it. Baffled how anyone has the time for that.

I have the time because my boyfriend does not take me anywhere at the weekend!!!! He is playing Amateur Builder whilst I sit at home alone.

OP posts:
Tontostitis · 19/10/2024 18:48

The money is a red herring, the lying is the issue. That and a never ending house renovation that conveniently prevents future planning. Accepting a £75 gift whilst giving a £2 and faux apogising for a fake inability to do better. You need to have a talk but I think you know this is over the trust is gone.

HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 18:48

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:13

"He's not going to liquidate assets prematurely just so he can buy his new gf gifts"

Nowhere have I suggested that.

BUT it is not outrageous, outlandish or unheard of for a couple in a love/sex relationship to exchange gifts at Xmas and birthdays. He earns £28k, which is more than me, and could have afforded to spend £10 or £20 on a gift. He isn't 12 years old!

Yes he could have. But your whole outrage is about his millions, not his wage.

He told you he wasn't going to be spending money. Why did you not listen? Don't call the man a liar just because you didn't believe him when he told you this was how he was going to be.

biscuitandcake · 19/10/2024 18:49

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:38

"£250,000, from sale of his property could be renovation cost"

He is three years into the renovation. He won't employ a labourer even at £10 an hour. Where on earth would be be spending £250,000 on the place? It's just a two bed house not a palace.

Is he Alan Partridge? Is he staying in a caravan alongside the house while he renovated?

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:49

WhitneyBaby · 19/10/2024 18:45

What he has invested for retirement is not money he could be spending on her instead

I thought the OP had said earlier that he said he has a very generous pension.

He told me he will get a very big private pension from his company when he is 60 which is only 3.5 yrs away. Then at 66 he will get £880 a month from the government pension.

OP posts:
WhitneyBaby · 19/10/2024 18:50

Bin him off, find someone who likes to do the same things as you and isn’t as TAF (tight as fuck).
Why waste time staying in with him when there’s so much fun stuff to do, you can afford to do those things and hopefully you have good health to do them. You only live once and all that.
Stop fitting in around his life plan.

pikkumyy77 · 19/10/2024 18:50

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:45

This is exactly what I have been doing for the past nearly two years. I see entertainments advertised, tell him I want to go, he whimpers "oh that sounds nice but I cannot afford it" and then I go with friends or by myself instead. But believe me it is quite miserable sitting alone in a theatre knowing your boyfriend is at home because he could not afford a ticket. I've also been away on two holidays, for a couple of weekends, to restaurants etc. Afterwards he just asks if I had a nice time and is happy if I did.

One time I had an idea to book a room at a hotel near his workplace on a Friday night, for a fun sexy time a la "dirty weekend". The town he works in is by the sea so there are loads of hotels and b & bs. He instantly said OOOOH that sounds great but I cannot afford it. I then searched and found a Travelodge room for just £46. I put this to him and he said he could not afford even his half if it, the £23. So you can see this is another reason I am so shocked and also livid to find he is a millionaire.

He really is a killjoy. You sound really nice. Dump him and find a better partner.

WindyRiver · 19/10/2024 18:51

He is naturally frugal to the point of being miserly. That would really constrict the things you can do together (and it doesn't make you a gold digger to sometimes want to do nice things...especially when you're paying your own way!). You thought you were putting up with this situation temporarily. It's not temporary. That's who he is. He will not change. You need to decide if you can live like that. It sounds like you've tried to be really accommodating to his situation (well, what you thought was his situation).

About the £2 charity gift, it's the thought that counts...and his thought was that £2 is plenty to spend on you (didn't need to 'top up' the bargain with a scarf or a bottle of wine or something) and that he could just pretend it was all he could afford. He is making a choice to be frugal.

HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 18:51

WhitneyBaby · 19/10/2024 18:45

What he has invested for retirement is not money he could be spending on her instead

I thought the OP had said earlier that he said he has a very generous pension.

What is a generous pension? The OP's idea of a "generous pension" might not be his idea of a generous pension.

Opentooffers · 19/10/2024 18:51

Start aranging stuff that you want to do. You went to his tribute band despite not liking the originals (I'm not a fan of tributes, would rather see the real thing).
He owes you, but would he do the same and come along to something you'd like to see? I suspect he's laying foundations for, as a couple, only doing what he wants to do, and you've been obliging up to now.
Suggest meals out if that's what you want to do. Book things yourself so you know it's not happening on the cheap. When he whinges that he can't afford it, just say " too bad, I'll go with my mate instead.
If he suggests something cheap to do, say you're busy. He will see less of you, might appreciate you more, or it gives you time to think about whether a slow fade is appropriate here.

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:51

biscuitandcake · 19/10/2024 18:49

Is he Alan Partridge? Is he staying in a caravan alongside the house while he renovated?

Sadly no, he is living inside the house but its not too bad. I mean, I have slept there when one could look up and there was no ceiling, I could see the roof beams, but he's very tidy and it's very clean, no rubble or dust!

OP posts:
CraftyYankee · 19/10/2024 18:53

He sounds like he has incredibly disordered thinking around money and financial matters. He will need specialist counseling to get past it.

Whether you can get past the lying and broach the topic with him is up to you.

If he is capable of being honest about the situation and decides he wants to deal with his disorder is another question.

More likely is that he gets upset, turns it on you for snooping and breaks up with you.

I'm sorry that you're losing the image of a great guy. But in the long run he is deeply damaged and will have to put in a lot of work to change. And the therapy won't be cheap so I'm not optimistic it will happen!

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:53

Opentooffers · 19/10/2024 18:51

Start aranging stuff that you want to do. You went to his tribute band despite not liking the originals (I'm not a fan of tributes, would rather see the real thing).
He owes you, but would he do the same and come along to something you'd like to see? I suspect he's laying foundations for, as a couple, only doing what he wants to do, and you've been obliging up to now.
Suggest meals out if that's what you want to do. Book things yourself so you know it's not happening on the cheap. When he whinges that he can't afford it, just say " too bad, I'll go with my mate instead.
If he suggests something cheap to do, say you're busy. He will see less of you, might appreciate you more, or it gives you time to think about whether a slow fade is appropriate here.

Edited

That is what I have been doing from the start - going out without him.

He won't pay out to do something that is my choice rather than his, He will just about pay - a little - to go to something that he really REALLY wants to attend.

OP posts:
HeyCol · 19/10/2024 18:54

I get it OP. He told you "I can't" but what he actually meant was "I could but I won't".

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:55

HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 18:51

What is a generous pension? The OP's idea of a "generous pension" might not be his idea of a generous pension.

He told me that his work pension is higher than the state pension, which I know is about £880 pm

OP posts:
Awfeckoff · 19/10/2024 18:55

After your updates op, I don't think I would ever speak to him again!

Also, please be very careful with whatever financial packages he has set up for you. Check they are legit, change the passwords etc.

All the best.

coxesorangepippin · 19/10/2024 18:55

Next time I stayed at his

^

Why?? Just, why???

RoseJam · 19/10/2024 18:56

You don't sound happy. Whenever you meet, it sounds as if your conversations are about money. Your trust in him has gone - and rightly so.

A mean and stingy person NEVER changes. Ultimately they love their money more than you, more than life experiences, more than having a bit more comfort and more than saving time. It's sad.

Do you really want to share this life with him?

PayYourselfFirst · 19/10/2024 18:57

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:17

That is NOT FAIR.

In none of my posts have I suggested or even hinted that he "should" be spending "loads" on me. In fact I have said the exact opposite, and several times! So stop misquoting or lying about me.

I have stated again and again that I am 100% fine with paying my own way. Paying my share, paying my half. But he won't pay HIS half. He pretends to have no money.

It's deception and playing the victim to circumstances he has created.
Both 🚩 manipulative behaviours.

ilovebrie8 · 19/10/2024 18:58

Life is too short for this it’s ridiculous just end it and don’t look back.

Barnets5pSlots · 19/10/2024 18:58

Haven’t RTFT but lying about his finances, has already had a negative impact on your life. You are having to either not do things (as he can’t afford them) or do them with others purely due to his lie that he has no money for them. By omitting to tell you about his wealth, he has deprived you of having a better lifestyle, as no doubt you’ve deliberately not suggested/done things in the past as he has no money or felt too guilty to do them alone knowing he can’t be there. He hasn’t cared that he has put you in that position.

Equally, you have gone into the relationship in good faith, laying your cards out on the table and being honest about your life. He hasn’t matched that. He has deliberately sought to hide things from you. Two years is an ample enough time for trust to be earned and it seems he’s no closer to telling you now.

Finally, I am a psychotherapist and hoarding can definitely have hereditary traits.

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:58

WhitneyBaby · 19/10/2024 18:50

Bin him off, find someone who likes to do the same things as you and isn’t as TAF (tight as fuck).
Why waste time staying in with him when there’s so much fun stuff to do, you can afford to do those things and hopefully you have good health to do them. You only live once and all that.
Stop fitting in around his life plan.

Whitney you are SO RIGHT.

The irony is, I grew up in poverty and worked minimum wage blue collar jobs most of my working life and had to live frugally right up until my 40s. Now I have more disposable income than I have ever had in my entire life and can afford outings and holidays and restaurants and hotels I have ended up with Mr Stingy Miser!

OP posts:
Uricon2 · 19/10/2024 18:59

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:53

That is what I have been doing from the start - going out without him.

He won't pay out to do something that is my choice rather than his, He will just about pay - a little - to go to something that he really REALLY wants to attend.

Doesn't that tell you everything about his priorities?

Opentooffers · 19/10/2024 19:01

There's IQ and EQ, often people with high IQ have poor EQ. He sounds like a prime example - clever, but odd. We've all met them, no nouse despite brains. I'd suppose you'd maybe class him as ND these days. I used to find intelligence attractive, but after dating a fair few quirky men, realised it becomes dull in time. It's all about balance, whereas he is displaying some extreme behaviour and lying, it's not a great sign, would put a lot off. Its enough to give the ick.

Phonicshaskilledmeoff · 19/10/2024 19:02

could it be that he considers his assets his retirement plan?

I would describe myself as not having any money to spend on nights out etc because day to day I don’t. I do have £100k set aside for home renovations though. I would t be discussing that with someone I was just dating though.

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