The saying goes that opposites attract, and while this isn’t 100% true, there is truth to it. For example, many married couples have interests, skills and abilities that are quite different. Ideally, they also have some things in common that they can enjoy together, but usually, there are at least a few big differences.

What would you do if you liked to travel but your spouse thought traveling was a waste of money? Would you stop traveling, travel without them, or convince them to come with you?

In this story, one man is in this situation. He considers traveling his hobby and wants to travel more often, but for now, he settles for visiting a friend every other year. His wife even gives him a hard time about that.

Now, he has an idea, but he’s not sure if it’s a good idea or a bad idea. He’s not sure if his wife will be on board.

Let’s read all about it.

WIBTA if I told my wife that any money I earn on overtime is mine to use however I want?

My best friend from middle school lives in Europe while I live in the US.

I visit him on avg once a year and a half.

It’s always a long drawn out conversation/argument with my wife when I tell her I want to plan a trip to visit him.

Here are the two biggest reasons his wife is against these trips.

Her primary complaint is the expenses.

However, we both make above avg salaries and do very well financially speaking.

Her second biggest complaint is that she won’t have help with our toddler.

However, her mom lives one mile away and recently retired and loves to babysit.

He thinks there’s another reason his wife is against these trips.

She’s a homebody and I’m not. She doesn’t understand how much these trips mean to me.

Most guys my age (late 20s) have some kind of hobby. Some guys like upgrading some tuner car. Some guys like nice clothes. Some like to go out to nice bars and restaurants.

I do nothing. The only thing I enjoy and look forward to is traveling to new places.

I want to tell her that I want to start traveling much more often. Id like to plan a trip every 6 months to have something that I enjoy to look forward to.

He has an idea, but he’s not sure if it’s a good one.

In order to take her biggest argument (money) out of the equation, im thinking of proposing to her that I will fund all future trips strictly with money that I earn on overtime.

I view my income as house/family money.

I have no need to work overtime, and I never do. If I was to work beyond my normal amount of hours, it’ll be by choice. And if I choose to work harder, I feel like that entitles me to that money to use however I want.

WIBTA for proposing this idea to my wife?

I mean, he can propose the idea, but I’m not sure his wife will go for it.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a teacher who learns a lesson of his own from his student’s essays about personal responsibility.

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

One person points out how finances should work in marriage.

Another person tells him it’d be selfish for him to travel that much.

He needs to compromise with this wife, not spend as much time away as possible.

Another person flips the scenario to ask him how he’d feel.

I didn’t specifically see him say that he wants to travel by himself. Yes, the trips to visit his friend are solo, but when he mentions traveling every six months, he doesn’t specify if he wants to travel by himself or with his family.

I think he should suggest a family vacation. If his wife is concerned about money, he could suggest the idea of working overtime to pay for it. He needs to let her know how important traveling is to him. Maybe he could let her pick the location for the first family trip.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who doesn’t want to go to the amusement park with her friend anymore, because the friend can no longer ride most of the attractions.