When you marry someone, you need to make sure you are on the same page for everything that is important in life, especially finances.

What would you do if your wife agreed to split the rent 50/50, but then she was always behind on her half, so you had to step in?

That is the situation that the husband in this story is in, so he wants to stop covering for her, and force her to pay her bills and file for child support.

AITA if I stop bailing her out and demand she financially steps up?

AITA for refusing to keep bailing out my wife and pushing her to file for child support?

This sounds like a nice family.

I (28M) am married to L (29F). We have 3 kids in the home: my 3 & 1-year-olds and my 10-year-old stepdaughter.

We got married after our first child. I love my stepdaughter and treat her as mine, but her bio dad does almost nothing.

She really should get this ball rolling, it hurts everyone by delaying.

I’ve pushed my wife to file for child support; she refuses because she’s afraid of 50/50 custody and doesn’t want her daughter influenced by him.

I think he should still be forced to contribute. From the start I was clear: I wanted a 50/50 partnership. Right now I’m basically carrying us.

He is working hard for the family.

I take home about $2.8k/month after benefits/401k on a rotating shift schedule and work overtime/side jobs to keep up.

My wife works 8–5 as a long-term sub, around $21/hr, and brings home roughly $1.8k. Her fixed bills are about $800. Our rent is $1,600.

Having a little extra money in the bank is important.

I warned her in mid-October that we needed to get ahead for November’s rent. On Oct 30 she said she had $100 for rent and would have more later.

Now, at the end of the month, she tells me she only got her normal check, had to pay her bills, and is short again.

Why does this matter?

Meanwhile, right before Thanksgiving, she threw a hotel birthday party for her daughter, paid for everything, and only afterward told me she couldn’t cover her share of rent.

It’s only her share because she died on the hill about this apt. I doubt her whole thousand went to party but I’m sure her portion did.

This is not a problem that he can work hard to overcome.

I’m getting her a cellphone. Mom does parties I get gifts. This isn’t a one-off; for months I’ve been grinding extra hours and covering the gap while she avoids hard financial decisions (child support, finishing her degree to get a better-paying contract, sticking to a budget).

I’m at the point where I want to stop covering her shortfall on rent/bills and insist that she file for child support and make a serious plan to increase her income, instead of relying on me to plug every hole.

If this is the case, he should be paying and seeing his daughter regularly.

My daughter’s father is just a bum. Not dangerous.

It seems like he was up front with his wife from the beginning, and the wife agreed to the arrangement, but now she is backing out. He is right for holding her accountable.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Yeah, she is always going to have financial problems if she doesn’t fix it soon.

Yeah, it is their bills together. But they both need to contribute.

Absolutely, they need to come to an agreement.

This commenter is spot on.

These two need to get on the same page right away.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.