Unemployed 39-year-old wife orders $1176 worth of takeout in a month, her working husband cuts her off from their finances: 'I told her she could eat any of the food we have in our fridge'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Sep 30, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

In that most memorable year of 2020, food delivery apps went from something that weird rich people used to something that the average Joe could and should participate in. In 2019, the idea of ordering a private car for a bucket of KFC to be driven directly to your house was outright absurd. You could order pizza and Chinese food for delivery, but at least those things traveled well! A burger and a milkshake are way less tasty when they've spent 45 minutes in a hot car. 

In the modern era, there are several kinds of food delivery app users. There are those of us who only use it when we're sick or unable to leave the house, those who never use it and see it as a colossal waste of money, and the regular users. The woman at the center of this story is a regular user, and it's ruining her and her husband. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10411028992
    via Stephanie Berbec

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITAH for completely cutting my wife off from our finances because she wouldn't stop ordering takeout?
    via u/Careful_Credit_4645
  • 03
    I am 41 years old and male. My wife is 39 years old. My wife doesn't work due to a minor disability. It's not as if she cannot work, but she complains of discomfort and exhaustion all the time. The discussion over her working basically ended five years ago, and I have completely given up on the prospect of her ever having a job again. a
    via u/Careful_Credit_4645
  • 04
    Seeing as she doesn't even come close to qualifying for disability and brings in no income, we currently live entirely off my salary. I do not mind financially supporting her, but my wife's spending habits have gradually become more and more reckless. It began with her ordering takeout twice a week, and then that escalated into three times a week, and now she's ordering takeout nearly every day.
    via u/Careful_Credit_4645
  • 05
    This is all despite our fridge being stocked constantly. I do the shopping, and I make sure to even keep our freezer full of things she would only have to microwave. Last month was a particularly heavy one for her. She spent $1,176 on delivery apps alone. We cannot afford this. There were several days that she ordered twice. I may have reacted harshly, but on Friday, I pulled money out of our savings, completely paid off the card, and then canceled it. I then removed all the money from our joint
    via u/Careful_Credit_4645
  • 06
    Apparently my wife learned this when she tried to order takeout. She tried to call the company who explained the card had been canceled. She texted me asking what had happened, and I responded that she was cut off.
    via u/Careful_Credit_4645
  • 07
    Well, when I walked in the door that evening, my wife was lying on the floor dramatically saying that she had "low blood sugar." I told her she could eat any of the food we have in our fridge or freezer. I also noticed that she took the garbage out, probably for the first time in a decade (I'm surprised she even knew where the outdoor bin was). I can only assume she was disposing of the evidence of what she ate (as she was pretending to have not eaten), but I honestly don't care enough to dig th
    via u/Careful_Credit_4645
  • 08
    emo_bassist NTA $1176 on takeout? Thats a half a months wages for me. No this needs to stop and the manipulation with the blood sugar thing is beyond over dramatic and the fact she took then garbage after years of not doing proves she knows what she is doing
    via u/emo_bassist
  • 09
    Busy-Persimmon-748 I'm wondering if it will save money long term to divorce her.
    via u/Busy-Persimmon-748
  • 10
    Nosaja_adjacent This thinking is actually justified. I know of a 30+ year marriage that ended up in divorce, a very big part of it had to do with finances. One worked and the other refused to and used their child and then grandchild to justify their own personal spending habits and refusal to work. Craziness.
    via u/Nosaja_adjacent
  • 11
    royalbk If nothing changes he should definitely divorce her I agree with him cutting her off but also she can easily spin it as financial abuse (and it ain't a lie since he rightfully stranded her in the house with no money) So she is mooching off of him and bankrupting him and forcing him to be the bad guy...best to just cut his losses and run.
    via u/royalbk
  • 12
    Loki_the_Corgi As someone who tends to suffer from low blood sugar, that this ruse was used, AND she had I'm kinda food in the fridge. If she genuinely HAD low blood sugar enough to "faint", she wouldn't be conscious unless she gave herself a shot of glucagon. This person needs a mental health evaluation. This is not something people right in the head do. You need to absolutely lock down your credit. I'd consider divorce if your wife doesn't start acting like an adult. NTA.
    via u/Loki_the_Corgi
  • 13
    AldusPrime If she was spending $25 per meal, that's 47 meals in one month. This is completely out of control. Like, she's using this to fill some kind of hole in her life. Who knows, maybe after not working for five years she's just super bored. Anyway, that's an astronomical amount of takeout.
    via u/AldusPrime
  • 14
    Mishy162 NTA. Wow your wife spent close to my food, fuel, entertainment, clothing etc budget for the month just on takeout. She needs to get a job, part time at a minimum. Why are you still married?
    via u/Mishy162
  • 15
    RemDC "Now that I know you can manage the garbage, I'm leaving that task to you." Never take out the garbage again. As to her tantrum? Yawn. If she wants takeout so badly, she can find a way to earn money to pay for it.
    via u/RemDC
  • 16
    ERVetSurgeon NTA. Why are you still with her? She is using you as her personal ATM.
    via u/ERVetSurgeon
  • 17
    dingdongcheeseball Nta; I would hazard a guess she's eating takeout because she's bored, lonely and unfulfilled because she doesn't have a job to occupy her. I think I'd suggest if she wants take out she might have to get a job to pay for it. Or just get a voluntary job at least. Doing something to help people. Then maybe she'll realise that she could be contributing to your household and community rather than sitting around eating.
    via u/dingdongcheeseball
  • 18
    Additional-Aioli-545 Nope! NTA. The most I would do for her is give her an allowance for her personal items ONLY. If she blows that on take out, well, sister, it to be you.
    via u/Additional-Aioli-545
  • 19
    Natti07 I feel torn about this one. I don't think you're an AH for needing to cut off the spending necessarily. Bc her actions are unsustainable and will destroy you guys financially. However, it does kind of sound like she's got some mental issues going on. I think she A. Needs to see a professional. And B. Needs to find something to give her purpose, whether that's work, volunteering, a class, a hobby? Something. Kinda nta, but maybe completely cutting off all funds is extreme and further disc
    via u/Natti07

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relationship marriage pizza delivery work wife marriage-drama husband food delivery food eating unemployment home unemployed delivery relationship drama
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