Woman Says Husband Refuses to Give up Streaming Services for Baby Formula in Viral Post

Family budgets establish spending guidelines and can provide a general financial outlook. Redditor Throw_A3632ESD4 took to the "Am I the A**hole" forum to vent her husband's unwillingness to cancel his streaming services for the sake of their strained budget.

She wrote in her post that has garnered more than 16,000 votes that she is the family breadwinner. Her husband does not work and stays at home with their toddler and 9-month-old baby. Throw_A3632ESD4 noted that money is tight, and when she tried to talk to her husband about cutting all but one of his multiple streaming services, the couple had an argument.

According to CNBC, money can cause arguments between couples, but having a family budget may help alleviate some of that stress.

The outlet provided some strategies on how best to build a budget. It noted that couples should create a list of their expenses and income. Once a general overview of expenses is established, couples were encouraged to discuss what they can keep and what they can cut. Staying organized and tracking the expenses were the final two strategies given to keep a successful budget.

The Redditor wrote that she rarely bought anything for herself due to the difficult financial situation.

"I kept neglecting buying hygiene products and have only one pair of shoes that look decent," she wrote. "I can't remember the last time I bought anything nice for myself and keep feeling guilty just thinking of going shopping for stuff that is necessary."

After she asked her husband to choose one subscription to keep, Throw_A3632ESD4 wrote that he "threw a fit" and called her "ridiculous" to think the streaming services are the reason for the family's tight financial situation.

The Redditor wrote that she believes she pays more than $80 each month for the streaming services, but her husband claimed finances were strained because of the makeup she buys.

"He said that I was trying to financially control him since I got offended when he pointed out that I waste money on makeup and explained that he cannot and WILL NOT be bought with money no matter how desperate he is," Throw_A3632ESD4 wrote.

She continued and said that he claimed having the streaming services was a right, not a privilege because he is a stay-at-home parent. However, Throw_A3632ESD4 also wrote that in addition to working, she also does the cooking, cleaning and washing when she gets home.

Her husband, she said, was not working because he struggled to find a job in his field and refused to work in other related fields. She wrote that "his dignity won't let him since he worked hard for his degree."

"Final straw was when he suggested I stop buying formula and go back to breastfeeding since that is unnecessary and expensive," Throw_A3632ESD4 wrote. "I was floored and was seething I lashed out at him asking him if he literally thought canceling formula is better than his precious subscriptions."

She wrote that she initially stopped breastfeeding due to health concerns, but she was also too busy with work to breastfeed. Throw_A3632ESD4 said that her husband did not stop criticizing her choice to use formula instead.

Nearly 3,000 Redditors posted a comment, and many of them sided with her.

"He's contributing nothing financially. You are [not the a**shole] and you can spend your hard earned dollars however you like," one comment read.

Another wrote, "You're a family, a unit, you need to make equal sacrifices, and it feels like you're already making [more] sacrifices than he is."

Many others echoed the sentiment and wrote that the Redditor was in an unbalanced relationship based on how much work she was doing compared to her husband.

"OP needs to quietly and quickly move her money into new accounts in HER name only [assuming they have any joint ones], cancel any joint credit cards and get her payment information removed from HIS streaming accounts," they wrote before suggesting that she end the marriage.