Money is said to be one of the biggest issues that couples fight about, and it's easy to see why.
In a 2022 study of 2,000 couples living in the UK, 62 percent admitted having arguments with their significant other about money.
And this is something that has happened to one guy on Reddit who posed a questioned in the notorious 'Am I The A**hole' (AITA) thread.
Advert
In the thread, the anonymous poster, a 39-year-old man, explained his situation and how he was wanting to go on vacation to celebrate his 40th birthday - something he'd never done before.
"I want to take a week and travel purely for recreational purposes," he wrote. "My criteria is that the trip needs to be at least a week and be international."
The poster described his finances as 'being in shape' as he'd been working on them since his 20s, and has managed to set some money aside for the trip in question. The same can't be said for his girlfriend, however.
He explained: "My girlfriend is great. She works hard and supports herself. But she doesn't make as much money and, most importantly, is currently saddled with around $20k in credit card debt arising from a period of unexpected unemployment she had in the past that forced her to burn through savings and live on credit cards."
With the pending trip and her financial situation in mind, the guy said he offered to pay for their lodging if she could foot the bill for her own airfare.
He added that they've only been dating three months, so was reluctant to pay for her whole vacation and felt that she should be able to 'contribute financially to come along'.
The Redditor continued: "She then told me she didn't feel she could afford to cover meals + half airfare even if I went somewhere relatively cheap (I was thinking possibly Caribbean where trip flights are running typically under $500).
"So I said that I understood but I also have been wanting to do this milestone birthday thing for a while now and I still intend to go even if just by myself and would only be gone a week."
The ordeal caused a fight between the couple, and the guy's friends and family are 'split' on if he's in the wrong or not.
He concluded: "I can see both sides and just want to know, AITA?"
A large majority of the comments on the very long thread are on the original poster's side, with some hailing his girlfriend as a 'red flag'.
One person replied: "3 months into a relationship is way too early to be making those kinds of requests, and you even did make a generous offer anyway. If she still can’t afford to go, then she really shouldn’t be going on any trips. That does not mean you should be putting the whole thing on hold."
"If you had said you'd been together for three years, I'd call you out, but for her to expect you to potentially spend thousands on her after only three months is some sugar-daddy stuff," echoed a second.
Giving a more balanced answer, a different user penned: "It's okay for her to be disappointed and to express those feelings to you, but the necessary and mature thing to do for her to do now is to set those feelings aside and be happy for your opportunity."
What do you think?
Topics: Money, Reddit, Travel, Sex and Relationships
Niamh Shackleton