Look what the cat dragged in! (TL)

[Pudmuddle]

I always had these issues with my H regarding how much I spend. The thing is I don't spend much on myself at all, only the necessary cr@p needed each week, groceries, school clothes, etc.

He even said to me the other day that he realizes he has been overly critical in this area and maybe he put too much pressure on me. It's hard to feel independent but always feel like you have to go to someone else to ask for money for things.

Maybe you could think of a way to talk to him about this now before it gets to a boiling point. Money is one of the top stressors in a marriage. He actually wrote out and explained all of the bills we pay each month so I could see where it all goes. We make decent money and it seems we are always tight. That helped a lot when he did this. The funny thing is, I taught him years ago how to balance a checkbook and pay and organize bills. I told him that I would always talk to him before hand about things I needed to buy so it wouldn't be a surprise and I wouldn't feel awful about wanting to spend money on myself.

Or maybe you could ask him to set aside allotted amounts for each specific thing you must do. Just some thoughts. I had some wine with some friends this evening so I kind of feel like I'm just blabbing here, but I think you get what I'm saying. Maybe just fit it to your situation. This may help set up the respect factor with him even and trying to build that up...