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My (32F) husband (32M) thinks his financial contributions count as household chores. (by Sparky)

 Sparky (0)  (29 / M-F / Massachusetts)
6-May-18 6:51 am
My (32F) husband (32M) thinks his financial contributions count as household chores.

My husband and I have been together for 7 years, married for 4.
My husband has always made more money than me, because he has opportunities to work over time and earn bonuses. He makes about $30,000-35,000 more a year than I do.
Right now, he is working 50-55 hours a week, M-F. I am a teacher and am also working on a graduate degree.
I always viewed our financial contributions to be fair because of our different salaries. But, after some things he’s said lately, I’m wondering if he feels differently. Here’s how we split finances:
I pay: electric, gas, my car, vet care (3 animals), half the mortgage, my credit card.
He pays: half mortgage, his credit card, water, tv and internet, oil changes (both cars), both car insurance, both phones, groceries (75% his food).
While I recognize he does pay for some things for me, I feel I pay my share too.
Now the financial background is out of the way, here’s the main topic. I take care of 85% of household chores. Things like laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, picking up the house, vacuuming and mopping the floors, dusting, cleaning the kitchen, and deep cleaning at least once a week. My husband does the dishes twice a week and mows the lawn. He used to not do anything inside the house unless I specifically asked. He started doing the dishes more regularly after I broke down and begged for more help around the house. Teaching and grad school takes a LOT of my time and I was having a difficult time keeping up with all of it.
A recent Saturday, our friends texted and asked to hang out that night. I was in the middle of cleaning the house and had homework I needed to work on. I told him this, and that I would be up for going out if he would help me clean so I could get to my homework faster. He told me he would do the dishes later and I asked if he could do something else too. I don’t remember how it devolved into this, but he told me he does other stuff for me, like pay for my phone and insurance. He also brought up how he is still paying off the new flooring we bought. Even though I’ve suggested using our tax return to pay off the balance or I will purchase our next big item (we’re planning on a mattress). He didn’t say much after that and then he went to the gym.
This isn’t the only time he’s used this same reason when the topic of helping around the house comes up. I’ve asked for help more than once, and all I get is the dishes done twice a week. Is it fair for him to do less work around the house because he pays for more? Does it sound like he’s upset about the division of finances?
Tl;dr My (32F) husband (32M) brings up the fact he pays for more things than I do, some of which are for me, when I ask for more help around the house. Is that fair?
Edit: A few things, my husband has never got upset with me for not cleaning the house, but if I don’t do it, it won’t get done. He’s said he would pay for a cleaning service to come in twice a month, but I have to find the person and he doesn’t want to pay “too†much. We have a joint account, but we don’t always contribute to it every month.
After I made this post, he came home from the gym and started doing the dishes. I was in the kitchen and he showed me a bowl that didn’t get clean in the dishwasher. He told me this is why he wants them pre-rinsed and for me to please remember this. I told him, sorry I forget sometimes and asked if he had been annoyed with me lately. It has seemed like it. He said no, he just wanted to remind me again to see if it would help for next time. Ugh.
Edit 2: Someone asked if this is how it’s always been. We lived together for 2 years before we were married and I did 100% of the household chores. I was getting my teaching degree and working as a bartender. I had WAY more free time and didn’t mind doing everything then. After we married, I started teaching and shortly after began grad school. During this time, I began needing help around the house and started asking for it. But, it only happened when I asked, he rarely did things without prompting. I think he got used to having me take care of everything and doesn’t know how to change. Maybe?
Edit 3: I work as a full time teacher which is 40 hours a week at school. I also work an extra 6-10 hours for after school day care. I would say on average I spend 10-15 hours working on graduate work.


Source.

 

 

 
 
 KALHARDY (0)   (31 / M-F / Uganda)
6-May-18 7:20 am
Then u need a house maid

 

 

 
 
 MrWalkSoftly (16)     (58 / M-F / Louisiana)
6-May-18 4:44 pm
By the time I get through reading these long, drawn out Reddit posts, I really don't give a shlt what these people are going through....

 

 

 
 
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