The day finally arrived. The ex had to (GASP!!!) get a second job!!! Try not to shed too many tears for him. Let me explain...
While I was married to the ex, he had serious, awful spending problems. He made a very good living (still does) and I also worked full-time. Because of his constant overindulgences and shopping sprees, we ended up in serious debt, including major IRS debt.
To avoid that happening again, I basically had my entire check withheld each week. I ended up bringing home maybe $40.00 a week. And with that money, I was supposed to figure out how to buy groceries, gas, and pay for any personal expenses I had. Yeah, right.
I always begged the ex to reign in his spending, but to no avail. I took on extra hours at work just so we would make ends meet. Because the extra work was done from home, he felt it wasn’t “real” work. At one point, I asked the ex to work some extra hours to help out. He said no, not unless they paid well, and anything under $50.00 an hour wasn’t sufficient. Needless to say, $50.00 an hour computer side jobs weren’t exactly in abundance.
Fast forward to today. The ex claims he can’t “afford” his “life,” and needs another job. Let me assure you, I get a VERY small amount of child support from this man. Like a fool (Kiki…you know how this goes!!), I agreed to far less than the state-mandated amount of child support because I felt bad. Still, he feels he’s being robbed blind.
Now, I have a lot of compassion for people. I really do. I understand unexpected expenses come up, like car repairs, house issues, illnesses, etc.
However, driving 1.5 hours each way to and from your girlfriend’s house several times a week is NOT a necessity. Eating out every single say is NOT a necessity. Going on a week-long trip to Cape Cod is also NOT a necessity. The ex feels entitled to all of these things. Fine.