Some couples are on the same wavelength in almost all areas of life, while others – not so much.

And that isn’t necessarily a problem, as long as they communicate.

For the couple in this story, one another’s spending habits seem totally unfathomable. So it’s no wonder that they’re both left feeling disgruntled and confused.

Read on to find out what unusual purchase caused the dormant drama in their relationship to erupt.

AITA for not buying my wife any nice clothing or make-up

I am 34, and I met my wife (who is 36) four years ago. We got married after one year together, and we have a 2-year-old daughter.

We’re both working freelance, and her income is usually two or three times more than mine.

We work equally in terms of time spent.

When one person is working, the other takes care of the baby.

As she earns more, she spends more.

She treats herself and the family members (one child and two cats) at her level of income.

For example, we dine out a bit too much (I try to cook, and am not bad at it, but she usually doesn’t feel like eating at home).

She loves to buy expensive fruit over the affordable ones, or buy costly clothing, bags, or a top-of-the-line rice cooker.

Read on to find out how this situation became problematic for the couple.

At the same time, she wants to feel equal in providing for the family.

I try my best (I always go to sleep later and wake up earlier) to meet her expectations, so I always run out of money every month.

Every time I bring this into conversation, it’s always “I have the right to use my money.”

There’s no way to get her to spend at the same rate as my income (which is above average in my city).

She used to work in the fashion industry, so she’s a bit picky about what she wears.

I never thought about sitting down with her to write down every item on her wishlist because what she can buy, she already buys; and what she can’t buy, I can’t help her with.

At least, that’s what I think.

Uh-oh. This drama was only just beginning.

Today she bought a Chanel lipstick for first time after 3 years.

I intended to offer to pay for it, so asked for the price, and she replied $50.

I said, “Wow, a $50 lipstick? Normal people can never use this.”

I can’t afford it at the moment, so I didn’t suggest paying for it either.

Let’s see how his wife responded.

She felt disappointed because of what I said, and because I never buy her any significant things except on birthdays and some special occasions in the four years we’ve been living together.

For her last birthday’s, her gift was a small necklace worth 1/5 of my monthly income.

Apart from occasional flowers, I rarely buy her any significant gifts in daily life because I never save enough for this.

I mean, it’s not my priority to buy her excessive stuff that she doesn’t really need.

Now I’m wondering if I’m wrong for not putting my wife’s girly stuff more on top of my priority list?

AITA?

This couple clearly need to have some thorough discussions about their spending.

It’s all very well for her to want equality in their spending, but she needs to realize that she earns more than her husband – which means that he can’t afford to spend as much as she can.

Their poor communication and mismatched priorities are causing growing problems between them.

Let’s see what Reddit thought about this.

This person thought that their spending habits just weren’t adding up.

And other Redditors thought that the problem was that he just wasn’t paying attention.

While this person modeled a healthy financial relationship for the couple.

It’s not really a problem that she wants to buy a lipstick, nor is it an issue that he doesn’t want to spend his money on it.

The real issue is their communication – or lack of. After four years together, they should understand one another’s priorities when it comes to money and spending.

He needs to learn to communicate.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.