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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

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 20:27

@HollyKnight Here is just one of my investments, and as you can see it has increased by 38% already. I paid £4, 648 and now it's worth £6.447. Just to prove I am not the liar you think I am.

OP posts:
Namechangejustincase24 · 19/10/2024 20:29

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 19:40

@WhitneyBaby asks "Do you know much of his past relationship history?"

Yeah we have told each other a rough outline of our pasts. He says he left home aged 27 and has only ever had three girlfriends, and he cohabited with each one for several years. He never wanted to get married because he never wanted children. The first two may have left him because they wanted kids, because both subsequently had kids with another man. Then he bought a house with his next gf who had two grown up sons who had left home by that time. They split up about 6 months before I met him.

So he’s only been in this house and living frugally for at the most 6 months before you met him? Was there evidence of ‘normal’ spending before eg good quality coats and shoes, kitchen equipment. I’m guessing his ex wouldn’t have had everything.

S0CKPUPPET · 19/10/2024 20:29

@AmIbeingUn i undertand that you feel betrayed. Because this information doesn’t just change the future you hoped for, it changes the last two years of your life. The sacrifices you have made for him - because you loved him, believed him and thought that you were supporting him in short term sacrifices for longer term benefit.

But now you know that the future you planned of moving in togther, perhaps marrying, will never happen. You can’t possibly live together when your attitudes and values are so totally different. It doesn’t matter in a way whether this is a mental illness / compulsion / long term con / whatever. He’s not going to change , he’s nearly 60, this is who he is.

So as far I as can see, you only have two options . End it now, which of course will be devastating for you.

Or accept that this is all you will ever have . Spending weekends together where you play along with his game and make sympathetic noises every time he says he can’t afford to go out for a coffee . Going through your little ritual where you say you will pay and he makes a sad face and says that on no , he couldn’t possibly take your money .

Are you honestly going to go this every weekend for the rest of your life ? I assume you are not planning to say “ oh come off it Alan , I know you’ve millions in the bank “?

He’s shown you very clearly that there’s zero compromise between how he wants to spend his time, money and energy and how you want to spend yours. It’s his way or the highway . You spend all your couple time doing exactly what he wants. as @WhereYouLeftIt so clearly points outs this DIY project will never end, he could use his money to finish it in a few months and go back to work FT but he never will because he doesn’t want to.

I’m sorry, I know you are shocked and devastated. There’s no easily answer here I’m afraid ,you are in a horrible situation. End it with a man you love and in some ways get on with very well . Or go on living a lie and never having the future you hoped for.

fc123 · 19/10/2024 20:30

@AmIbeingUn
"I have just been onto HL and taken a screen shot for you, then found out there is no way to attach an image to a PM!"

You don't have to prove anything to anyone.

People advise here based on what you posted.

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:31

@MidnightMilkman thank you VERY MUCH dfor your thoughtful and intelligent post. You ask: "Will you have to do your washing at night to save money, or pay extra towards utilities if you have longer showers?"

TBH I am starting to wonder if he will be standing outside with a stopwatch and then telling me I owe him £1,73p for the hot water and 0.03p for a squirt of Lidl own brand shower gel.

OP posts:
fc123 · 19/10/2024 20:34

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:31

@MidnightMilkman thank you VERY MUCH dfor your thoughtful and intelligent post. You ask: "Will you have to do your washing at night to save money, or pay extra towards utilities if you have longer showers?"

TBH I am starting to wonder if he will be standing outside with a stopwatch and then telling me I owe him £1,73p for the hot water and 0.03p for a squirt of Lidl own brand shower gel.

It's reasonable to assume that this could be a future scenario if you ever lived together 🙂

AnneKipankitoo · 19/10/2024 20:35

Have a 40 minute shower next time !

coffeesaveslives · 19/10/2024 20:35

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:14

Some posters call me a gold-digger trying to get my hands on his money.

Some posters (like you) say I need counselling for putting up with a man who has no spare money to spend on dates and presents.

Either way, I am the one "in the wrong", apparently!

You've spectacularly missed what I've been trying to say.

It's nothing to do with his lack of money and everything to do with his appalling attitude and lack of care towards you or anything you like or enjoy. You can be broke and still take someone out on dates. You can be broke and still have a good attitude. You can be broke and still treat someone decently and with respect.

He's done none of those things. He's lied to you and expected you to put up with the dregs of what he wants to offer, all the while moaning and whining and trying to get you to take pity on him. You probably don't believe me, but I find it bloody concerning that an apparently intelligent, kind woman in her fifties was happy to tolerate such shit for so long.

You deserve a million times better. Stop being angry at strangers on the internet and get angry with yourself for tolerating his bollocks. And then fuck him off and raise your bar.

YellowphantGrey · 19/10/2024 20:36

HedgehogCabinFan · 19/10/2024 20:26

Oh please go away with your ridiculous victim shaming!

She's hardly a victim. She snooped and found something she didn't like.

If the roles were reversed you would be telling her to run and not look back because he invaded her privacy

He's lied to her, not ideal, she's resorted to calling him names and slagging his behaviours but won't end it?

She needs to get her self esteem out of the gutter and end it, not stick around and calling him the perfect man in one breath and a stingy miser whose behaviour now embarrasses her in another

MightSoundCrassButItsFactual · 19/10/2024 20:36

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 17:53

Are you asking me why neither of us has ever been married? It's not relevant to the problem I have posted.

No dear, that is not the question. He should be already married if he was so much into you the way you are into him

wowzelcat · 19/10/2024 20:36

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.

This is excellent.

HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 20:37

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:27

@HollyKnight Here is just one of my investments, and as you can see it has increased by 38% already. I paid £4, 648 and now it's worth £6.447. Just to prove I am not the liar you think I am.

Cant see anything. Technology doesn't like you.

CluelessAboutBiology · 19/10/2024 20:37

Sounds an utterly joyless lifestyle. There is thrifty and there is downright tight. This man is not thrifty.

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:38

fc123 · 19/10/2024 20:30

@AmIbeingUn
"I have just been onto HL and taken a screen shot for you, then found out there is no way to attach an image to a PM!"

You don't have to prove anything to anyone.

People advise here based on what you posted.

Sorry fc, it's just that I am a 100% totally honest person and Holly accused me of lying about my investments going up in value. I was willing to show her my screenshot and prove my honesty.

I did not choose these investments, HE did. He told me exactly which 10 funds to invest in and I have made between 16% and 38% increase in them. He knows his stuff, clearly. In this way he has done me a huge favour as my money was in a stupid account earning like 0.5% or something stupid.

OP posts:
AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:39

HollyKnight · 19/10/2024 20:37

Cant see anything. Technology doesn't like you.

I pasted it and saw it on the screen but when I clicked on "post" I noticed it did not display. Nothing I can do other than give you all my logins and I don't think anyone on here would think that wise!

OP posts:
GreekDogRescue · 19/10/2024 20:39

YellowphantGrey · 19/10/2024 20:36

She's hardly a victim. She snooped and found something she didn't like.

If the roles were reversed you would be telling her to run and not look back because he invaded her privacy

He's lied to her, not ideal, she's resorted to calling him names and slagging his behaviours but won't end it?

She needs to get her self esteem out of the gutter and end it, not stick around and calling him the perfect man in one breath and a stingy miser whose behaviour now embarrasses her in another

She’s not called him any names.
You need to get a grip and stop bullying people who come on here for guidance and a bit of support.
Thank goodness she did see his laptop; imagine having to live a lie due to this stingy bloke who takes a small carton of ribena to the theatre because he’s too tight to buy a drink!

doodles55 · 19/10/2024 20:40

I fully appreciate your dilemma ,however your description of the bent brown frying pans made me really laugh🤣sorry

Flossflower · 19/10/2024 20:41

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:05

Happy to PM you a screenshot of my investments, showing the % increase in them since I bought them. You need only ask!

The stock market generally has gone up quite a lot in that time.

MugPlate · 19/10/2024 20:41

OK but at this point I’m quite craving a small carton of room temperature Ribena…

NoisyDenimShaker · 19/10/2024 20:42

AnneKipankitoo · 19/10/2024 20:35

Have a 40 minute shower next time !

Haha, brilliant!

Namechangejustincase24 · 19/10/2024 20:42

MugPlate · 19/10/2024 20:41

OK but at this point I’m quite craving a small carton of room temperature Ribena…

Already added to my Tesco order for tomorrow!

Respectisnotoptional · 19/10/2024 20:43

The thread I’d filling up OP, I do hope you’ll let us know the final outcome.
I think you’ve had a hard time on here, you sound lovely and deserve someone who will share a fulfilled life with you, not a life full of penny pinching.

Faldodiddledee · 19/10/2024 20:43

Do not post any financial information about yourself to anyone via PMs or on here, OP.

I get why you are angry, because you invested a lot in this, feel and felt loved and now it seems what you thought might be a very happy future feels uncertain.

It is so hard to find nice decent good men in mid-life, even the single or divorced ones all do seem a bit damaged, and my own view is that often women are getting more emotionally mature over time but some men are just as stuck emotionally as they were years ago and probably why their wife left them.

SweetSakura · 19/10/2024 20:44

AnneKipankitoo · 19/10/2024 20:35

Have a 40 minute shower next time !

Yes!

(I mean hopefully you will leave him, but otherwise I suggest a long hot shower and seeing how twitchy he is by the time he is done)

AmIbeingUn · 19/10/2024 20:45

MightSoundCrassButItsFactual · 19/10/2024 20:36

No dear, that is not the question. He should be already married if he was so much into you the way you are into him

Even when I was a little girl I used to tell everyone I never wanted to get married or have children. My mother and aunts used to laugh at me and say I'd change my mind once I was a woman. I never did. There has never been a single day in my life that I wished I was married. Even when I was totally loved-up with previous boyfriends. (I waited all my young life to feel the urge to have children but it never came, so I did not have any.)

This man I am writing about has also spent his life never wanting to marry or have kids.

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