The Price of Takeout: How a $200 Demand Turned the Tables on My Husband

My Husband Demands I Pay $200 for Our Takeaway Food – He Soon Regrets It

For a long period, my husband refused to divide the household duties and bills equally. But I managed to make him feel bad for being so self-centered.

Our disparities in income were brought to light when my husband, Peter, 40, and I, Shannon, 35, quarreled about who should foot the bill for takeout. Since I make more money than Peter does, he is less worried about our financial situation.

He emphasized that my job as the wife was to prepare meals. We divided grocery and rent costs, but he felt that I should be the one to pay for our meals since I couldn’t always do that.

Unlike Peter, who ends his workday at 4:00 p.m., I just received a promotion that enhanced my responsibilities as the leader of a department, involving late work evenings.

When I get home at 5:30 p.m. after a long day at work, Peter is already curled up with a video or game. He occasionally does housework, such as washing the dishes or cleaning the bathroom once a month, but not without grumbling.

A few months ago, Peter boldly said in front of friends that he was “investing all his money in my [expletive]” while under the influence of alcohol.

I needed that as a wake-up call. I began to meticulously track all of our spending. I downloaded all of my receipts, which included those for groceries, phone bills, rent, Uber, vacations, and airline tickets.

Peter countered that these were my decisions, but he neglected to mention the fishing trip he had been dying to go on, which I had paid for without asking anything in return.

Peter remained firm in his position even after these disclosures. He said that since he wasn’t paid for the majority of the month, he could only contribute $200 toward our monthly costs while on vacation last month.

Since I knew he hadn’t been paid for the majority of that month, I didn’t give him any grief or voice any complaints. But even after he resumed employment, Peter wouldn’t give me anything more than what he is now obligated to pay.

Upon returning to work, he continued to decline assistance beyond covering rent and bills, stating that I should be the one taking care of the food as the woman of the house.

Weary, I proposed that he could occasionally prepare food or at the very least reheat prepared dishes. In response, he questioned why he should be married if he would still have to prepare meals.

I dragged myself out the door after work last week. I worked till 7 p.m. after waking up at 5 a.m. I enter the kitchen scarcely at all, and he says, “Hey, hun. I grabbed some food. I’m owed $200 by you. Put that in my wallet, please.”

“Pardon me,” I said. Don’t we both eat? At minimum, shouldn’t we divide that? Peter responded with even more venom, stating, “Nope. The wife is you. You work as a cook. You must pay for the meals I get if you are not going to cook.”

I nearly fell to the ground. However, I bit my tongue because I felt like I needed to discipline him. I planned my retaliation when my husband requested me to go on a quick vacation with him the following day to unwind.

For me, this was the pivotal moment. His plan backfired catastrophically when I said, “Dear, you’re the’man of the house,’ so it’s YOUR GIG to 100% financially provide our vacations,” assuming that I would pay as usual. Thus, you remain where you are if you don’t pay.”

That really got to him. He admitted the imbalance in our connection and accepted his shortcomings. Peter revised his opinions about our jobs and agreed to begin cooking throughout the week. This adjustment marked a major advancement in appreciating and comprehending the work and sacrifices that each of us makes.

In retrospect, Peter and I split the workload equally on all of our joint projects. But I didn’t ask him for a dollar; instead, I paid $3,000 out of my own cash for one summer vacation trip.

In fact, I purchased 90% of the shoes and apparel he sports. For his part, he solely used the remaining cash on gadgets or fishing gear, both of which he already owns.

When it comes to money, between the two of us, I’m more responsible while he’s the reverse. We handle our finances separately since I don’t trust Peter with such a responsibility.

Furthermore, I had recommended counseling prior to our agreement, and he laughed in my face. He informed me he knew what he wanted and didn’t need anyone else to tell him what to do.

Even though I know we still have a long way to go, I’m doing my best to accommodate him by doing some housework. I’m hoping that going forward, Peter will be more receptive to my proposals for improving our quality of life. Even if it bruised Peter’s ego, I’m pleased he finally saw things my way.

A lady in a similar situation makes more money than her husband and pays for the majority of the household expenses. But the husband changed and ignored his wife once he earned a large sum of money. This is what happened:

‘My Win, My Money,’ my husband said, even though I pay all the bills. Gone Pale Upon Returning Home One Day

Emma had always thought that John and her were in agreement. He didn’t contribute anything, so she had to deny herself most of the things she wanted for herself while managing all of their expenses.

Furthermore, she contributed on a weekly basis to help him with his pastime of playing the lotto. John was really lucky to win a lot of money one day.

She had no idea that he would start to turn against her. Emma urged him to use a quarter of his money to pay for an acting course she had always wanted to take but couldn’t afford.

Rather, John humiliated her by dismissing her request with a grin and declaring that he was the only one who won and that the money was his.

She reminded him that he should encourage her dream, that she was too busy supporting them both financially to give herself the things she wanted to have or accomplish.

However, John ignored this, going on to make fun of his wife and insisting that she should foot the bill for all they owned. He went on to say that they weren’t at all in agreement if she couldn’t see that he was the only one who had won.

Emma felt hurt and disappointed. She came up with a plan and made the decision to go around John in the days that followed. He was visiting his brother one day, and this was the ideal opportunity to get retribution. His face went pale when he got home and saw what she had done.