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Joint Accounts
How Can I Get My Partner to Stop Micromanaging My Money?
It’s hard not to feel resentful
Dear Joint Accounts,
My partner and I both work full time, and we both contribute to our household expenses. She outearns me substantially — which I wouldn’t mind if I didn’t I feel that she micromanages my spending.
She knows that I have almost nothing left after taking care of bills and necessities each month. Whenever we sit down to budget, she questions all my financial decisions like I’m a child — why I spent money on this or that, or, don’t I think that purchase was frivolous? And every time, I get defensive and we get into an argument.
Am I being unreasonable? I want to know how to overcome this feeling of resentment before it blows up, but I don’t know which one of us needs to back off.
Sincerely,
Reaching Resentment
As someone who can also be a bit controlling when talking money with loved ones, I can understand where your partner is coming from, and how frustrated she may be feeling. On the other hand, I get where you’re at, too, because I’ve had people tell me how cruddy this makes them feel.
