A man recently visited a popular online forum to discuss an incident involving his wife’s fun money account and his broken laptop. For the sake of his story, we’ll call him Jim.
Jim explained that his wife is a hardworking stay-at-home mother who maintains the home and takes care of the children. As a result, he has a fair amount of household chores and yardwork for a balanced workload.
She has full access to all their accounts except his spending account. “I put the same amount into her spending account, but I can only deposit, not withdraw.” Jim went on to inform that while he doesn’t work from home, he has a home office. He uses it to catch up on things, plays with his toys, and plays video games.
Jim’s expressed telling his wife to please leave his office alone on multiple occasions. She has a room for her hobbies and personal space. He cleans the room by taking the trash out, removing and washing dishes, or cleaning up after playing with his kids.
He even suggested that after he and his wife play video games, he cleans up the room. Jim explained he doesn’t have a lock on his door, but there’s no reason for her to be in the office without him.
Jim noted that he lines up some of his collection of Lego Minifigs on his screen on his laptop. “I like to imagine that Batman and Spider-man are watching me work. I know it is silly, but I like it.”
Here’s Where Things Get Messy
For some reason, Jim’s wife decided to go clean the office. She needed to move his laptop and close it, but not all the way because his Minifigs were in the way.
When he came home, she explained what had happened. The screen was not working at all. So he had to get his old monitor out and hook it up to check if there was more damage.
It was just the screen. But after checking, it would cost Jim $250 for parts and labor to replace the screen. So he decided to replace the laptop, using the old one, with his old monitor for their kids.
The cost was only $600. So Jim took $350 from his account, and he took $250 from the money he would deposit into her account and purchased his new computer. He explained it’s not affecting their budget. Instead, it’s affecting her side project and hobbies budget.
The Aftermath
“Well, now she is angry at me because she has to cut back on her fun stuff. She likes to have a spa day with her mom, for example. I said I wasn’t responsible for my computer being broken and that she 100% was.”
Then, Jim clarified that she believed he should forgive her because it was an accident. “I said I wasn’t upset, but if she felt I should forgive her, I fully forgive her, but she still has to help me pay for a new laptop.
I did not just take her money. We talked about it first. She is still upset that I expect her to take responsibility. I did not make a dictatorial decision. We do not work that way.” Here is how the internet responded.
Forgiveness and Compensatory Damages are Different
One stated, “Forgiveness and Compensatory Damages are two different things.” Jim forgave his wife for doing the damage. But she’s still responsible for repairing the damage. “You forgave the person, not the financial responsibility.”
This Reads Like a Parent Disciplining a Teen
“Reads like a parent disciplining a teenager and not his wife,” one suggested. Another added, “I completely agree with people saying she should pay for part of his new computer since she broke the old one.
However, she should also be able to have a say in how and when this happens. Jim decided not to put the money in her account, even after she said she wasn’t ok with his request. It feels a lot like a parent taking part of an allowance away.
Did he discuss any other options? For example, she could pay him smaller payments out of her spending. She is his wife, not some random stranger. I’d even willingly do this for a close friend, especially if I could afford to replace it.
That means I can front the money to repair it as well. I would do it with my wife if we could afford to replace it. She did something accidentally. Life happens.”
It’s Perfectly Reasonable
Several people in the thread agreed that the wife was snooping and violated his boundaries by trespassing in his office, which he asked her to stay out of repeatedly.
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One added, “Your decision to take the money out of her fun money is perfectly reasonable. The funds have to come from somewhere. They shouldn’t come out of the household budget, and they shouldn’t come from your fun money. They should come from the person who committed the infraction and your wife’s fun money. The maxim “you break it, you buy it” applies.”
What do you think? Is Jim wrong for expecting his wife to help pay for his laptop because she’s responsible for breaking it? We hope you enjoyed this Reddit discussion. This article is inspired by the internet and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Wealthy Nickel.
