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Fed up with finances

Chi123's picture

Here to vent and hear some input from you all. Today DH and I got into an argument because I asked him why he spent 30 dollars at a store buying toys for his 3.kids when we already tight on money.  What pissed me off more was the fact he didn't bother to buy our son a toy , I've been putting off buying anything for our son or for me because I know we are tight on money.  I've been only buying essentials.He isnt working and we using money I have in my account. What gets me is that it wasnt fair and isnt. I'm putting off our son and me and he is spending on his skids with money we need. What i hate the most is he tries to turn it around saying i dont like his kids etc and gets mad everytime i mention about him buying thinga for his kids with money from my account. We living tight on money and he buys his kids but not our son. This is what I dont find fair, I'm here making sure our son is covered, I dont owe his kids anything so I shouldn't have to give money I'm holding to for our son to his kids. Am I wrong for this thought? What are your inputs? 

Comments

tog redux's picture

No, you aren't wrong.

If he's not working, you control the money, remove his access to your account and give him a little "allowance". 

lieutenant_dad's picture

If it's your money, then don't let him have access to it. Take his debit card, and if he needs cash for something, he needs to ask you for it. If he wants spending money for his kids, then he gets a job.

Chi123's picture

Yes I have done it too and he gets all angry saying how I dont love him or consider his kids as my own that they are a part of the family and starts going off how I dont like them. 

halo1998's picture

is maniuplation...you don't loooovvvvve meeeee.....blah blah blah...having access to money isn't love...love is going 

Damn my wife is supporting me, our child and my spawn.  I will do what I can to not make this worse..including telling my spawn.no you not getting toys.  none of us are getting anything.

Chi123's picture

I've explained this too and he gets mad either way. He instantly tries to say I dont care about his kids. I care, but he thinks I'm supposed to instantly love them its like saying I love you to random kids I just met. He also gets defensive claiming that I'm trying to charge him. Ive said no I'm not just the fact that why should i spend on them when I'm not even buying my son things id like to get for him or myself.  

EveryoneLies's picture

I wonder how he would react if you just agree with whatever he said (the part where he went on the you don't love me cr@p). 

Will he leave? lol

Chi123's picture

I think so lol he would say how I'm suppose to accept them as my own because we are married that he comes with kids included. If that was the case Id be marrying someone based on how their kids are -__- lol

notarelative's picture

Ok. Accept them as my own. No problem. I will treat them as my own. You are not working. Money is tight. We do not have extra money to spend. None of the children are getting toys.

And when you go back to work don't forget to treat my child as your own.

EveryoneLies's picture

Oh Sure, I would accept them as my own, and my kids will work for me. I also get to decide what to buy and what not for my kids. lol

My god, I don't know why men not making money often have the audacity to demand the right to spend the money they didn't earn. I had an ex like that too, and that's partlyl why he's now an ex.

tog redux's picture

Say it's not my job to support them. I'm already supporting YOU, which also isn't my job, so zip it and get a job.

Don't fall for that emotional manipulation BS.

lieutenant_dad's picture

SO WHAT IF HE GETS MAD?

Is he going to leave? Where's he going to go with no money and no job? Hmm?

And if he leaves, what are you losing besides more mouthes to feed since he isn't doing that himself?

You can't behave in such a way that is unhealthy for you in order to keep him. The fact of the mattet is that he could up and leave tomorrow for no reason other than he wanted to. You have ZERO control over whether he stays or goes, so being angry and threatening to end the relationship is empty ESPECIALLY when he isn't contributing.

Don't be afraid of a tantrum. In fact, if he gets mad, tell him that he knows where the door is and if he feels that strongly that he and his children are being mistreated that he needs to walk. You aren't keeping him there. 

What he wants is for you to give in. If you do that, this cycle continues.

Chi123's picture

Yes I have thought of this too, love is what keeps it going but it is true sometimes love isn't enough

lieutenant_dad's picture

Except this isn't love. Love involves both parties trying to make the world a better place for their partner. Love is NOT spending someone else's money so they can't purchase things for THEIR OWN CHILD and then manipulating them so that they feel guilty for not putting up with it.

This isn't love. This is being used.

GoingWicked's picture

I really hope he's responsible in other areas, because otherwise that situation is unlivable.  I agree take all forms of card away and give him a cash allowance. 

I would just tell him that of course you don't consider his kids as your kids, they are quite literally his kids, you had no part in creating them, and no, you will likely never love them like your own, especially if he's determined to spoil them rotten.

BethAnne's picture

This is what I would do. Sit down with him and tell him that you two need to sort out finances. Do not bring up his kids. Go over what your household income is, what your outgoings are and work out what money will be left. Estimate what will be needed for groceries and gas. Discuss how after all of these essentials and a little money set asside for building savings there is very little money left for discressionary spending and ask how he wants to deal with this discressionary money. Does he want to spend it collectively on things that you both agree on or does he want to split it between you two and each have a small amount of physical cash you can spend as you wish? Give him some options. Arrange with him that you two will have another discussion about finances in a month or two and go over how this budget and plans for discressionary money has worked out and that you can both raise any challenges then and make changes if needed. Tell him that you want to work with him on this and if he objects tell him the alternative is that you sort all the finances and give him a small allowance out of your paycheck and that you would rather be a partner than a parent to him. 

Being part of the process of working out a plan and having autonomy within that plan to spend even a small portion of money as he wishes without being accused of being frivolous or unfair could help him stick with the rest of the budget. Working on finances collectively when you have different financial habits outlooks is challenging and requires both partners to adapt. Finding a solution that works for you both might not be easy but it will be worth the effort. 

Again do not bring up his kids. He is being unreasonable about it all but it will only cause him to throw baseless accusations at you. Stick to finances and your budget as that is what the core issue is. If you choose to both decide how money is spent then you can advocate for your child. If you choose to split the discressionary spending then you have 50% of the money to spend on you and your son if you choose and he has 50% to split between him and his 4 kids. If he wants more money, he can work on getting a job.  

Cover1W's picture

This is good advice. My DH was not great with money when we met and no way were we going to share one account. We, as reasonable adults, sat down and did what Beth says ^^^.

If your DH refuses then you have a bigger problem than finances.

My DH is 300% better with money now. I still hold the joint debit card, but would trust him now id he needed it. Debt is being paid down.

kalaodell's picture

You aren't going wrong, I just don't get men I really don't. My fiancé did that around November of last year when he was strapped on cash and he bought SD a 30$ doll and didn't buy our daughter a toy. 

Chi123's picture

I dont either lol and yeah mine went behind my back thinking i wasnt going to find out thru the bank statements . He does it when I'm not around

ndc's picture

The sneakiness is a whole other issue. He's eroding the trust in the relationship. The fact he goes behind your back means he KNOWS you don't approve and he's doing what he wants anyway. That's not how it works in a true partnership.

CLove's picture

I would definitely examine the fact that he is gaslighting you and doing the Deflection Dance.

He is accusing you of not liking his kids. He is accusing you of "not loving them like your own". He is sneaking around behind your back and not telling you about his uses of marital assetss (this is called "lies by omission")

To answer your question, no, you are not wrong. The fact that you are asking this shows how his manipulations are working on you. Well here is a dose of clear cold reality: He is committing Financial Infidelity. Cheating you out of your money that you are saving up for your own kiddo. Very sad.

Have a HUGE talk with him. That from now on you will be taking control of the finances. That he will be given what he needs and that he needs to get out there and get a job, any job. So that he can support his own kiddos. No more toys for kiddos, from YOUR money. He very clear about how you feel about his actions. And give him repercussions.

My husband and I have separate finances. Previously when I was under employed I only helped a little bit. NOW, we make the same but everything is shared. Anything that we have left over is for our own decision how to spend/save.

Chi123's picture

Yes I plan to have a big talk about this but he eventually turns it to how I dont like his kids all because I am trying to make sure we are spending our money on what we need. I been only buying necessary things for our son while he is here buying his kids toys and what bothers me most is he doesnt give them a limit. A while back when I was pregnant the money I worked for I used to make sure our son had all he needed once born. The money he had, he would buy his kids toys and once he even refused to buy me a candy bar I was craving because he said he needed to buy them toys. Since then I stopped asking him but I hate the fact he claims I dont like his kids just because I am here trying to be financially responsible

CLove's picture

Answer: "You are spending my money on them, which is taking away from my child". Direct. simple.

Answer: "How is being financially solid an indication I do not like your kids?" Deflect back to him.

Answer:"You dont love me, I am just a paycheck for you and your spawn from a failed relationship". Another deflection technniq, the turn around.

Answer: "YOU dont love OUR child, you take from OUR child to pay for toys for your children from another woman!" Another deflection teqnique, with a dash of guilt tripping.

Answer: "If you want to have a normal discussion (see Beth's suggestions) then the only recourse I have is to cut you off completely. Its not about my feelings towards your children, its about you sneaking around and being financially irresponsible. Now are you ready to discuss this intelligently, or are you going to continue to deflect and gaslight me with your terribly untrue accusations" Make him feel a bit confused...

thinkthrice's picture

"You don't like my kids" (TM) strawman argument.

"You're mean"  "They're juuuuusssttt kiiiiiids"  "I want them to feel at home"

Uncontrollable spending on skids then hiding the evidence..(shudder)  you're giving me flashbacks

SteppedOut's picture

So why didn't he also buy your shared child a toy too? 

Some of these guys... it's like they see their 1st family kids as their kids but shared kids as your kid.

My formerSO seems to be like that and further evidenced by him not ever seeing our shared child after I left him. He only did until he realized I wasn't coming back, now hasn't seen him in years. 

Chi123's picture

He claimed that he didnt want to buy a toy he wouldn't end up using. To which I told him "then why are you buying your kids toys they end up in the garbage in a few days by their mother or in the back of the closet" and he had no reply

Survivingstephell's picture

It's called deflection. He throws that at you when he doesn't want to talk about the core issue. Call him on it next time. " This is not about how I feel about your kids, this conversation is about the finances. Every time I bring up the budget, you throw that out at me to change the subject. If you continue to change the subject , I will have no choice but to take control of the budget without your input so the necessities get covered."    It then puts it back into his court to either discuss the budget or not. If not then " ok since you chose not to discuss this , you leave me no choice to handle it on my own".  Take him off all accounts and keep him away from your money. If he complains, he can go earn it if he wants money.