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Part 2- Orgainsing Finances Now we are married.

Stormyweather's picture

Hello to you all out in Steptalk world..Im sorry it’s a long one today….I think we are really doomed now and my heart is breaking.

I posted not long ago asking people for feedback about how others organised their finances once they were married. Those who know my back story know that we had a very challenging event happen to us 3 months into our marriage. SS16 was living with us FT at the time and SD21 and SD18 were supposedly both living independently (but had lived FT with us as well for nearly a year). Long story short, SD21 was highly manipulative and rude towards me and my DH stood up for her whilst throwing me unceremoniously under the bus. I could have easily proved her accusations of me were untrue by showing him my text I had written, but he refused to see it and instead continued to believe her lies. We attended counselling and tried to push it aside for the sake of the marriage but his passive aggressive behaviour; the way he would make unilateral decisions without discussing them and how I was still being minimized and how my feelings didnt count, lead to the demise of our relationship so soon in the marriage. He in the meantime found a rental (while we talking about getting our marriage back on track) so it was obvious he was still thinking we weren't going to make it as he had this rental lined up...fine...we broke up...I asked him to leave me alone and then things turned ”narky” with him demanding fixtures from the house for his rental like airconditioners and pot belly fireplaces he had installed when we were living together….I was trying to be reasonable but started saying no to him wanting to dig up the water tanks he had installed and just stopped trying to negotiate with him at all saying I will give him a percentage of the house once I sell it, and only if I made any money on the house (as he had done some renovations on the place so that that was me trying to be being fair). Anyway…he eventually won me back as he is really good at talking me out of being so upset and angry at him…and at this stage, now Im wishing he had just left me alone and us to not reconcile and move back in with me….

My earlier post was about looking to find out how others had organised their finances once they were married…as we are both contributing $500 a week each into one of my old accounts (he dosent want to open up a joint account) despite him earning way more than me. I also contribute an extra $150 a week I receive from a boarder who moved into one of the outside rooms (renovated by my DH for his SS16 to live in…which was formally a shed) and I also put that into the house account knowing its for us…with this account covering the mortgage and living expenses and whats left over can accumulate to then pay a chunk off the principle of the mortgage…well that’s the idea anyway. Its not a shared joint expense account as such. So what ever is left over from the $500 from our wages, is our own money which means he has a LOT left over and I don’t have as much. I also don’t have access to his accounts anymore after I queried why he was still paying for SD21’s rent when shes got 10 horses and shes recently bought another horse for $40K! So now I no longer have access.

So my DH isn’t willing to share beyond the $500 he contributes, claiming that’s what we agreed to. I did but Ive been thinking lately how I feel like we are living two separate lives now…his life and his cars and his business and he continues to tell me its my home and my car etc…it was starting to hurt and I felt resentful with all the hours he was doing and thus making money but not sharing other than the $500. I mean how can you feel supportive of all the time your DH spends being at work (long hours) to come home to a cooked meal, a poured drink, take his shoes off to rub his feet..hearing about his day, having sex and yet know deep down in the bottom of your heart its not being done for us or for our future?? So I tried raising my concerns via an email as I found an article about not feeling like a team when things are separate and I thought that would be good to share with him to break the ice…as Im truly scared now to raised how I feel about challenging topics…money being one…as hes likely to blow up at me and I end up feeling worse after trying to discuss things as gently as I can.

Im also considering a career change and looking at the possibility of going back to do more study, meaning im considering going prt time at work. This came on the back of him saying to me (after I confessed to hating my job and I need a change) that he would support me…. But seeing that things were becoming increasingly more separate, and him earning big bucks…I wanted to clear up a few things before I committed to study and considering a career change. He was furious at me for not being adult enough to talk to him instead of me emailing him with my concerns. I tried to explain its because I worry about his reactions but he told me he deleted it and if Im going to continue to email and text my way through a discussion which should be talked about in person, he is done. I tried to explain that his overreaction is why I chose to email first so it breaks the ice and it allows my feelings on paper as Im better at it that way….and that I was so sorry for upsetting him and that it wont happened again….he is still angry at me and it happened on Friday…he holds a grudge big time. He is claiming im showing him no respect by emailing instead of talking direct and why don’t I print out the article and come to him to discuss it like adults?? Well its because he is always tired, doesn’t want to talk about that sort of stuff (of which he piped in with well he works huge hours and I replied yeah for your benefit and not for us…)…and then he made it clear he is putting a nest egg together as he is waiting for me to kick him out again so he can save for a place in case he gets kicked out again….so no admissions re his appalling behaviour as to the reason why I asked him on the first place but that I KICKED HIM OUT…so he is waiting for me to do it again. So he will not be supporting me to go PT at work so I can have a career change, nor will he look at helping me clear my debt on the car that he has been driving this last month (which he has given back to me this morning as another show of living separately.

So his fear of being kicked out is ruining our marriage and our future. He doesn’t see me as a wife…and the more I think about it….has never seen me as a wife. We shouldn’t have gotten married…why ask me to marry him then if he had NO intention of working together as a team? He thinks that by contributing the $500 a week is his team approach. Incidentally, I believe he is still continuing to support his adult daughters to live and they work PT not wanting to work FT as both are chasing their dreams with horses and surfing. Whilst I understand him feeling insecure…shit Im feeling it too….how can we get past all the baggage shit that’s accumulated over the years without any effort on his part (as Ive done remarkably well to forgive him for being an arse to me regarding his daughter and I have NOTHING to do with huis kids any more as a result..Im 110% disengaged now. I treated them so well (when their won mother wasn’t) and this is the thanks I get in return.

Stormyweather's picture

With all due respect Sally, your idea of a marriage isn't mine. I want my husband to have my back as I have his. We are in this together. I don't insist on living in his pockets as we are both independent people. However I'm seeking an interdependent relationship.

He refuses to share because he says I will control him. That is so far from the truth it's laughable. He is the one with a multitude of hang ups one of which I'm seeing now is that he must be commitment phobic and passive aggressive all in one.

I didn't marry his wallet. This man has been recently declared bankrupt and I still staysd by his side. He has no assets other then a few cars and a business but I didn't care when I married him as I knew I had assets and wanted to share my life with him.. And he was keen to renovate around here which enabled his kids to live here FT and provided a nicer area for us to live in too so iphe has contributed previously ( when he could) and I supported all of them for nearly 10 months as all his money was going to lawyers.. So his payout from the court case was a measly $30k and he gave that to his kids ($10k each).... And we went without. SS16 blew all his money on shit in 6 months, SD18 paid for overseas holdiays so she could surf and SD21 bought a 4 angle horse float... He promised me that from that day forward everything he earns will be for us... He lied to me.

Amcc13's picture

This all sounds very controlling to me- everything will always be your fault
Get a second job and accumulate more money for yourself
Also stop meeting him at a door with dinner drink and slippers - it's not 1950 anymore
If you want to try make this work insist on counselling
But honestly I see so many red flags in this story I wonder how long till he becomes abusive

Powerfamily's picture

Where do you think his daughter learnt her behavior from, as the saying goes 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree'.

Stop putting in the $150 rent into the household account, put into a separate account for repairs/maintenance on the rental space.

*I mean how can you feel supportive of all the time your DH spends being at work (long hours) to come home to a cooked meal, a poured drink, take his shoes off to rub his feet..hearing about his day, having sex* stop doing this, it's all about HIS NEEDS/WANTS and nothing about yours.

As far as I can see the only thing you get out of this marriage is stress and disrespect from your husband and his brats.

You really need to decide/think about what you want from YOUR LIfE.

If he went could you afford to keep your house, do you have more rooms you could rent would this cover you wages if you were to go part time and school.

moeilijk's picture

This relationship has brought you a lot of pain and sorrow. You sound like a lovely woman and I hope you make some changes in your attitude because I think you deserve to be in a happy and fulfilling relationship. It's hard to be alone, but there's nothing about it that you can't figure out and handle.

And truly, how you're feeling, that's harder than being alone.

I'm not telling you to leave your DH. But you need to make the changes. He will be angry and do things to hurt you because he likes how things are and anger and hurtful words are how he controls you. But you are more than someone he browbeats into acting as he wishes. You know that.

SecondGeneration's picture

I hurt for you, reading this post, just argh!
I personally couldnt do it, but Im the type that once you kick someone out (or leave) then its done. Relationships over, if both parties are able to get so angry and wound up that they are not able or not willing to resolve the issue at the time then its done.
BUT that is because of my personality type, thats something I own up to and its something that I am very clear about.

Often nowadays people arent really very clear about what they see as a good marriage, about what they expect from their marriage partner. And ultimately, if you dont make it clear what you want/need then you are wrong to get frustrated that they arent guessing right.

Clear communication in the form of words and actions.

And this post? It just screams to me that hes telling you he frankly doesnt care, hes not interested in making changes, hes interested in protecting his personal assets that no longer include you. You are his wife if you are not included in his personal priorities then your doomed.

Your problems go way past finances.

Stormyweather's picture

Your comment stood out for me and I agrree... I've had my suspicions but was unable to see the forest through the trees. And yet I'm reluctant to just tell him not to come home ( as much as I want to) as it will put it all on my shoulders that I'm the bad one who's just kicked him out again after only moving in again in January!! And he needs to find a place to stay first ( which I'm guessing he's thinking about as he's already told me about getting a nest egg together in case it happens)... Newly married and he's telling me this because I sent him an email... And he called me the unhealthy one. Wow... That's the pot calling the kettle black!

So who knows whats going to happen. He didn't come home last night as he said he was too tired to drive after cryptically telling e he was at the hosptail .. No explanation as to why! He loves to keep me guessing and withholds information all the time. I'm sick of it. And sooooo tired of all the games.

Stormyweather's picture

Thank you for your support and I needed to hear your responses as I'm seeing the emotional manipulations from him and it's doing my head in. He stayed away last night and even that was done manipulatively. He texted me ( despite his rule he set about no texting) asking me do I want him home.... And I told him it was his call as to whether he wanted to come hime after work as he was the one upset with me and that he wants things separated which isn't in the spirit of being married....he then said I hear you loud and clear ( meaning that I didn't beg him or clearly say yes to him so he's taken that as I've kicked him out again which is exactly what he wants me to do so he does t have to wear the responsibly for not coming home and can blame me for not letting him.

I told him it was his turn to be the adult now (a reference to him telling me to be the adult as I dared sent him an email trying to express my concerns) -and that he doesn't need my permission to come home as its his home and he is always welcome ...despite him thinking otherwise.. And he still took that as me saying no.. He refuses to take reaponsility for making his own decision.. And wants to blame me. its maddening and manipulative. Then after all that he tells me he will be "home" later as he's sitting in hospital ... No Explanation! I hate it when he does that! Fucks with my mind to then drop a bomb shell and not explain himself! So I asked why is he there and he said he's there with his youngest son! ( he's son has tried to commit suicide ( attention seeking... No real plan to follow thorough) but didn't explain why.. So I said that it was his call not to explain why .. He said when the doc comes in later he will no more. I heard nothing other than him asking a question about the medical insurance I took out for us all ( and paid for) and then a final text from him saying he is tierd and planning to sleep the night in his office as he's too tired to drive ( 30 mins home).. What ever. I'm glad he didn't come back. I'm tierd of all his manipulations. I feel lied to and misguided and lead on with him. This isn't the marriage I signed up for. He deliberately orchestrates his life so I'm not part of it. Fine.

Indigo's picture

I haven't finished reading the responses ... split thoughts: "wow, I could use Stormy in my Life;" and the equally disrespectful "$500 is danged cheap for care, massages & sex."

Oh, and he's deleting everything and the dog because he doesn't want a papertrail. Caution. Seriously. Start looking for hidden accousts and expect him to hide $$$$ with skids.

Back to reading ...

Stormyweather's picture

"$500 is danged cheap for care, massages & sex."

Hahahaha!

True...I should "up my prices"!! }:)

BTW....we havent seen each other in over a week. Im standing firm with my need to be heard and insist on being treated with respect. He belittled my admission of feeling nervous when I asked to meet up with him, as to him Im criticizing him as he "is scary"...theres no inner or reflection from his part. Its always my fault for our issues and why he is now not trusting of us as he needs to build a nest egg in case I kick him out again. I call him on his emotional manipualtions now. Ive got nothing to lose and everything to gain if we break up.

Stormyweather's picture

Im honestly beginning to see this as well. He cant take gentle criticism..and it wasnt even critisim...but sharing my feelings and with real examples (from ion the past).

Its easier to blame me than to take responsibility of changing his action to be a caring attentive partner.

I keep saying to him....why did you ask me to marry you then if you had no intention of sharing? He keeps bringing it back to him having nothing to fall back on in the event we split and he needs to find a rental. Whos faults that then!! He gave all his money away to his kids (his payout figure from the property settlement) claiming he can make it back in a flash...but Im then persecuted because Ive "got all the power to kick him out" as its my house.

So what? I have to tolerate shit behavior from him, just so he feels secure living with me? i think not!

SweetMom's picture

This post pisses me off. I want to slap the shit out of your dh for you. Stop giving him sex, foot rubs, stop everything. He's in it as a business and a control freak. What a clown. Tell him to cuddle his daughter. 40k for a horse?!? And all he can give you is 500.00 a month ha! That's assenide !

memyselfandi's picture

Sounds so much like my hubby as he's as selfish with his money as he is with his children. They are HIS kids and I'm just the stepmom. My job is to be their friend and NOT their mother as they already have one of those. As I mentioned in my very long other post, now that he's gotten this huge raise, he spends on his gadgets and his needs and couldn't care less about mine. When he was making less, it was fine for me to blow through my savings for things he didn't want to pay for like the property taxes, etc. Now that I'm pretty much tapped out..oh well..he's still going to spend HIS money on what he wants to.

Our mattress is very old and was my parents. So is the furniture in our home as we bought my parent's home. Every morning I wake up with a backache because of the very old mattress. I asked him this morning if we could please get a new mattress and he sort of blew it off, knowing darned well that eventually I'll dig deep and just buy a new one when I get tired of waiting for him to kick in any of HIS money for one.

He's done this throughout our marriage, sitting back and waiting until I get tired of bills sitting there (like the property taxes) and knows darn well again, that I'd eventually pay them.

Yes, he helps pay the household bills, but I kick in also. However, again, he loves his gadgets and now that he's making more money, just goes out and spends a ton without even asking me about whether it's alright with me or not...yet when we first got married, I went out and bought a $35.00 Baker's rack and he blew gasket. I wanted to spend some of my savings on a new laptop and he wouldn't talk to me for a week!!

I had a nice discussion with him telling him that I wasn't comfortable with the way he was spending money and that we were on two different pages regarding money and how it should be spent in a marriage. He seemed to agree, but took out $2000.00 from our account from his moving package (as I've mentioned in my posts, he works out of state and just got a $10,000 moving package that he's blown through in less than a month furnishing the apartment he promised he's furnish very frugally).

Funny, when we got married, he told me how his ex was a huge spend thrift when they were married and he hardly spent any money on himself. I'm now finding that hard to believe and now think it was a complete contest to see who could spend the most out of their account..her buying new furniture constantly, while selling off their old, etc. He blamed their having to claim bankruptcy twice on her gambling habits/spending habits/credit cards, etc., yet the more I see, the more I feel that one was as bad as the other.

Again, he's very selfish with his money and it's pretty much what's his is his. I'm not working at the time, yet looking for full time work in addition to going to school full time for my Associate's Degree. That bill will of course be mine and I have no issues with that. However, being that I'm pretty much, again, tapped out from paying for all the BIG bills that he just keeps putting off, I've asked if he could help me a little with my part of the bills just until I can find a job.

He got ugly with me one morning and wanted to know why I needed to pay a larger amount on the charge card rather than the minimum payment and my reply was to get the thing paid off rather than him getting the newest IPhone along with a new expensive desktop computer. He's always got to have the latest technology which is, in my opinion, a complete waste of money. The charge card I'm making larger payments on is the one he put his flight home on (borrowing on my credit), well over two years ago and every month, he only wants to make the minimum payment on, which hasn't made much of a dent in it, and now that he has the money, it's time it's gotten paid off. This put a damper on him buying all the toys HE wanted and he sort of acted like a child when he saw $500 out of our account for not only the larger payment on my charge card, but I also paid off some of my medical bills (which he's also refused to pay for..and that are over a year old). We have insurance, but a $500/person deductible along with a coinsurance. In addition, we have a health savings account, but all of that goes to his kids for THEIR health bills.

Basically, although we're married, he expects me to take care of my own bills..along with pretty much taking care of my own self. Told me that he loves the fact that I'm so independent while he works out of State supporting his family but in all honesty..he's supporting his kids and I can pretty much take care of things here myself. Last time I was in the ER because I cut my hand on the back door he refused to fix when he was home (the handle wouldn't stay shut and it kept swinging open); we had a windy day and it swung open and while I tried to catch it while it came swinging back, my hand went through the already cracked window (something else he refused to fix), while letting our dog out. Luckily I got the most of it and not the dog!! 16 stitches later in my hands, you think the man could have care a little, but all he did was give me a lecture. He refuses to pay that bill due to it being MY irresponsibility..(HUH???!).

I refuse to let my husband take us down by his taste for his toys, rather than paying our bills and what I'm learning is that the man absolutely HATES paying the bills that need to be paid. He's FINALLY paying off his charge cards now that he has much more money, yet it still doesn't stop him from spending a mint on useless, very expensive items. Just last weekend he spent $400.00 on coins at a coin show for his coin collection without asking me my opinion at all.

He owes my dad well over $4000 and this has been sitting out there for well over 3 years. I bring it up nicely and he tells me he doesn't want to talk about it. One day I finally got angry and told him how very disrespectful it was to not pay his father in law back; when in fact, he'd borrowed $3000 from HIS parents and paid them back his first paycheck.

As this continues to fester with me, eventually it's going to affect our marriage.

SweetMom's picture

Memeselfamdi this also pisses me off. You painted a picture of a selfish asshole that's getting you back for what his x has done to him and taking it out on you with the spending. Since you're paying your own bills he has no business telling you what amount you use your money on a credit card. He should be paying you back! Don't it make you wanna screw his boss haha joking but seriously, don't it make you want to tie him up and shove a big vibrator up his rectum haha