Husband Slammed for Telling Wife He Can't Afford Birthday Gift 'Every Year'

A frustrated wife has taken to social media to reveal she has gone nearly 10 years without receiving a birthday present from her husband.

In a post shared to Mumsnet, the unhappy woman told readers that as a couple they earn "a little more than average" and don't live an "extravagant lifestyle."

"We are not rich but we are by no means poor," she wrote.

Despite this, when she asked her husband about his plans for her birthday he told her she would only be getting "a card" this year as he "can't afford anything with it being just Christmas."

The wife said this claim was "laughable" since they "save throughout the year" to pay for Christmas and he didn't use "any of his own money or savings" to buy gifts this year.

More to the point, she revealed that this is far from an isolated incident.

According to the woman they have been having the "same argument every year for the past 8 years" despite her repeatedly suggesting he set aside money so they can "do something nice."

Though she acknowledged they socialized more in December, it has become "the same story every birthday" since they have been together and she said she has had enough.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the 101 responses to the post agreed that the husband was guilty of showing an alarming lack of consideration for his wife. "He sounds selfish and uncaring," Hemmingwayscatz wrote. "You haven't asked for much at all." Catfunk agreed: "He sounds awful."

"It's not as if your birthday is a surprise. It's on the same date every year," Stropalotopus83 commented. "What is he spending this money on?"

Bebarkered said: "There's no excuse for this! He's clearly indicating that your birthday isn't a priority."

Skiptheheartsandflowers suggested the wife "delay" her birthday plans until "just after he [her husband] gets paid" to get around the issue. "I get that January can be a tricky month financially but that shouldn't get him off the hook," they added.

Allinadayswork80, meanwhile, suggested it could simply be down to the difference in genders. "The problem is, some men don't care themselves [about birthdays] and the importance is lost on them," she said.

While the jury is out on that particular point, science has previously shown women to be more considerate when it comes to gifting.

A study by Monique M. H. Pollmann and Ilja van Beest from Tilburg University, published in PLoS One, found women tended to place more importance on gift giving and provided male counterparts with better gifts as a result.

As part of the research 61 mixed pairings of men and women, which included family members, friends and those involved romantically, were asked to select gifts they wanted as well as the gifts they thought their test partner would like from a book of 30 items.

The researchers found women were more likely to select gifts the receiver wanted, regardless of whether they were choosing for a man or woman.

As part of the study, male and female students were also asked to rank 10 different gift certificates in order of which they thought a young woman would want most. Once again, women were better at selecting the right gifts.

They were then asked to rank gift certificates for nine special male and female profiles, each of whom varied in age. Once again, women scored higher.

"Our studies suggest that this increased effort may stem from the fact that women have more interest in interpersonal issues in general," Pollmann and Beest wrote.

"More importantly, we showed that this greater involvement actually translates into better gift giving."

The husband's apparent lack of generosity comes hot on the heels of another married man who earned the ire of the internet after throwing out his wife's special diet food.

By contrast, one husband earned significant backing online after telling his wife he would date and potentially marry again if she died.