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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:
LimoncelloSpritz · 19/10/2024 19:04

HarraKiri · 19/10/2024 18:07

I get it OP - you understood about the no holidays (even though you would pay for yourself) or nice days out, because you thought he can't. Now you know he WONT. He doesn't want to. He doesn't want to spend his millions on doing nice things with you - he gets greater joy that his money is in the bank than he does the idea of a weekend away with you.

You are not his priority, his money is.

You have been together two years. He should be willing to spend his millions on some Maltesers for you to make you smile ffs.

It's inconsiderate, selfish and stingy. And he lied. For me, that's enough to end a relationship.

This. He just sounds mean.

PeggyMitchellsCameo · 19/10/2024 19:04

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.

I know you say he’s lovely, funny, sex etc but that is grim. Can’t afford £23 for half a hotel room?
He is a miserable, manipulative arsehole.

JadedSoJaded · 19/10/2024 19:05

How did you find out his salary? For what it’s worth, £56k salary is not representative of a typical role in IT as a consultant of many years. That’s a junior level salary. Hope you’ve not been told more lies…..

Peony15 · 19/10/2024 19:06

Fascinating thread psychologically although only read OP's answers.
It's not about the money at all, it's about character and mindsets.
Once dated ( briefly ) a wealthy but very tight / careful with money guy who was also super intelligent etc.
His tight misers mindset had such an negative effect on my mind/normal enjoyment of life , I stopped seeing him and explainded why we were incompatible.
I was the polar opposite and all previous DP's and now DH are the same.
Generosity is not just about money.
You mention how wonderful life is with him yet you can't do things many take for the norm, holidays, outings inc eating out, mooching around shops purchasing things for home/garden/clothing.
He massively restricts your life together with his mindset ( a frugal ungenerous money horder ) which is what you now discovered, the lying about money is almost irrelevant.
Your future together will never change even if he was a trillionaire, especially given his age.
You either accept his true character being revealed unexpectedly and him trying to deflect from it by pleading "temporary" poverty or walk away.
He might be clever and sexy but how he acts around money, at his age too , gives me the ick.
Especially since you seem different, imagine dating someone with the same attitude as yours ?
Why would you not want a guy who wants the best not the worst ?
Sit in the best seats at the theatre , not the worst , treat you to a glass of bubbly instead of sucking on a Ribena ( did he bring one for you too ?? ) and enjoy
when you do organize /pay for likewise events.
Imagine having the freedom ( excuse pun ) money can give yet putting yourself in jail daily in a horsehair shirt.
It's the betrayal that hurts I guess.
And not sure what is so attractive about a tight, restrictive, ungenerous personality unless intelligence / sexy / good at DIY trumps those for you in the list of crucial must haves in a partner.

Yellow2024 · 19/10/2024 19:06

I would absolutely have this out with him because I don't care if was to dump me, I would be dumping him anyway.

What a crap way to treat a long term partner.

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:06

HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 18:41

I already talked about S&S ISAs. Whether it is cash or S&S he can only invest a max of £20k in ISAs a year.

I have a lifetime ISA, cash ISAs, and S&S worth a nice bit. But we live off the income from our jobs. The investments are for retirement. Not for Christmas presents and pizza. We have separate savings for those types of things. This man is spending his savings on his house. He was upfront with the OP about that. What he has invested for retirement is not money he could be spending on her instead.

"This man is spending his savings on his house."

No he isn't. He has explained to me clearly and more than once that all the materials for the renovation are coming out of his £28k salary. Hence there is nothing left over for anything other than essentials.

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

I have posted time and time again on this thread that I DO NOT WANT OR NEED ANY MAN TO SPEND MONEY ON ME. Other than the usual modest Xmas and bday gifts where he gets the same from me in return. I have stated over and over that I pay my 50% and WANT to pay my 50%.

OP posts:
YellowphantGrey · 19/10/2024 19:06

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:58

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!

So end it.

What's the point in dragging it out?

Pretrew · 19/10/2024 19:08

Unrelated Q but can you recommend a stocks and shares ISA?

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 19/10/2024 19:09

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.

Edited

this 100 per cent..
And the wringing of hands when OP finds the cheapest possible activities.
Making her have dates in his building site house, and then co-opting her to help with the building work because he can't afford £10 an hour to get help in.
And the Grimbo date at the cinema, insisting on picking restricted view seats even though she had to pay for her own.. and whipping out a ribena carton (just the one, for him) to avoid paying for drinks.

He's a daily liar, a miser and probably gets a "win" every time out of hoodwinking the OP and saving money all the way. It's an awful thing to say but he's probably delighted that he's got such an amenable girlfriend who doesn't cost him a penny and can be controlled into not going anywhere or expecting presents by him wringing his hands and whimpering "I'm so skint."

He's what we call a "Poor Mouth" and given his actual wealth, its repellent because he's forcing his GF to avoid quite reasonable activities that she can afford and he's more than happy to accept a brand new £75 coat whilst he pathetically hands over a £2 used present, whilst expecting sympathy and compassion for his near destitute state, which couldn't be further from the truth.

A repellent control freak. Ick Ick Ick.

TheShellBeach · 19/10/2024 19:10

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:06

"This man is spending his savings on his house."

No he isn't. He has explained to me clearly and more than once that all the materials for the renovation are coming out of his £28k salary. Hence there is nothing left over for anything other than essentials.

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

I have posted time and time again on this thread that I DO NOT WANT OR NEED ANY MAN TO SPEND MONEY ON ME. Other than the usual modest Xmas and bday gifts where he gets the same from me in return. I have stated over and over that I pay my 50% and WANT to pay my 50%.

It's all right OP.
Some people are being deliberately obtuse.

paddyohdoors · 19/10/2024 19:11

He 100% has some kind of OCD type issue or financial hoarding syndrome as others have said. I have a male friend like this, a bit younger but has also never been married or cohabited I suspect partly due to his extreme, tightness and obsession with property. My friend knows he has issues and could do with going to therapy but says that the cost of it would make him more ill. He knows full well how annoying he is but doesn’t seem to find the consequences (eg no one wanting to go on holiday with him, people losing their patience on a regular basis) as enough motivation to change. It’s very sad OP and I feel for you (and him, and my friend)

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:11

@Peony15

sucking on a Ribena ( did he bring one for you too ?? )

No, only for himself. He knew I would have money in my purse to buy myself a glass of wine at the bar.

He buys multipacks of Ribena at a discount shop so each carton costs him about 20p.

Also he does not buy eggs at Lidl because he drives a mile to a greengrocer shop where they are only 99p.

OP posts:
HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 19:11

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 18:55

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

That doesn't mean anything. How much does he want to live on when he retires? And will the company pension and state pension be enough to cover that?

For instance, if he wants an income of 50k a year, his company pension would need to be over 3k a month. Now that would be a very generous pension indeed.

But in reality, it's more likely it will be his savings and investment that will make up the difference.

helgel · 19/10/2024 19:12

Well he sounds worse with every thing you post OP, in fact he sounds absolutely terrible. What a bloody miserable life, with nothing better in sight.

Shelby2010 · 19/10/2024 19:12

I can see that this is a difficult situation for you. Looking at the facts, he seems like a nice person. He cooks you dinner & is good company. He doesn’t let you pay more than your share apart from the Christmas gift situation.

The whinging about being skint was obviously getting quite wearing already. Now you’ve found he has savings, that whining now looks more like pure stinginess - which is never attractive.

I would assume that the stocks & shares are pension planning & not available to spend. Likewise the flat sale might be his mother’s rather than his (possibly avoiding inheritance tax?). And either way are not your business.

How much longer are the renovations likely to take? Maybe suggest he ups his hours over winter when building work is more difficult & see what he says? Tell him you’re finding his constant whining annoying & he either needs to shut up or do something to change his situation. Tell him you are fed up of living so frugally. Don’t tell him you snooped at his finances unless you want him to end the relationship immediately.

MSLRT · 19/10/2024 19:12

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:11

@Peony15

sucking on a Ribena ( did he bring one for you too ?? )

No, only for himself. He knew I would have money in my purse to buy myself a glass of wine at the bar.

He buys multipacks of Ribena at a discount shop so each carton costs him about 20p.

Also he does not buy eggs at Lidl because he drives a mile to a greengrocer shop where they are only 99p.

Why does none of this quite seem true?

AnneKipankitoo · 19/10/2024 19:14

MSLRT · 19/10/2024 19:12

Why does none of this quite seem true?

I get your drift. Pushing the right buttons.

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:14

paddyohdoors · 19/10/2024 19:11

He 100% has some kind of OCD type issue or financial hoarding syndrome as others have said. I have a male friend like this, a bit younger but has also never been married or cohabited I suspect partly due to his extreme, tightness and obsession with property. My friend knows he has issues and could do with going to therapy but says that the cost of it would make him more ill. He knows full well how annoying he is but doesn’t seem to find the consequences (eg no one wanting to go on holiday with him, people losing their patience on a regular basis) as enough motivation to change. It’s very sad OP and I feel for you (and him, and my friend)

Thank you - and thanks also to others who suggested this. Until this thread it never crossed my mind that he may have an actual mental condition akin to being a hoarder. Which his mother is, with magazines and newspapers. I did not see the connection at all, I was too busy being livid at his lying to me all this time.

OP posts:
helgel · 19/10/2024 19:14

This is so bad, and you know it OP. Hhhmmmm.....

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:16

MSLRT · 19/10/2024 19:12

Why does none of this quite seem true?

Because some of his moneysaving habits are so ridiculous it is hard to believe anyone could be this miserly. There are many more I could tell you but I won't. It's actually quite embarrassing to think about these things, and I would NOT tell my friends or family. Thank goodness I am anonymous.

OP posts:
Havalona · 19/10/2024 19:17

He lied to you, and continues to do so.

He is frugal to the point of idiocy, and continues to be.

He is not one bit embarrassed about saying he is broke when he isn't.

OP, I could tolerate it if he was genuinely impoverished but if I found out what you did I would say it to him and leave immediately. I just couldn't live with or be with someone who is a liar.

I realise that leaving will be devastating for you. No getting around that. But seriously, every single time you see him you will see beyond his lies and want to tell him you know he is a cunning liar.

I think living with that hanging over me would break my spirit. Reach a decision about it and stick to it. Leave and eventually live a peaceful life, or carry on and be resentful, scornful and sad. Your choice.

coffeesaveslives · 19/10/2024 19:18

It baffles me that you've spent two years thinking this behaviour was even remotely normal.

Where's your self-respect?

helgel · 19/10/2024 19:19

How does any of this tie in with you thinking he's wonderful....it doesn't

Rainwind65 · 19/10/2024 19:19

I would have felt it is a deception honestly. He could have been up front and said he is extremely frugal for you to decide if it is for you, but instead he lied to keep you.

Dump!

BettyBardMacDonald · 19/10/2024 19:19

coffeesaveslives · 19/10/2024 18:47

Why have you stayed with a man who (in your own words) "whimpers" and "whinges" and "looks sad" every time you ask him to spend his own money?

Honestly, more fool you. He sounds like a right dick.

Why stay with a man she describes in such derogatory terms, is the question.

She resents sitting at home or going out with friends sans him. She resents his attitude toward money. Why are they together? Sounds like it's an FWB arrangement on his end, while she is looking for an all-in partner.

OP, the dating prospects get even worse in one's late 50s and beyond. If you want a different type of relationship you need to get out there fast and find it.

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