Woman Defies Income Sharing Pact With Husband, Holds Onto Business Commission In A Selfish Power Play

“I deserve to keep everything I make from my art!”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• November 11, 2023

In the quiet corners of a cozy home, one couple's financial harmony was gently put to the test. Our narrator (Original Poster), a stay-at-home mom who occasionally worked part-time at a daycare, was no stranger to balancing responsibilities. 

In her rare free moments, she indulged in her true passion—commissioned artwork. This allowed her to tap into her creative side, producing masterpieces that added a touch of color to her world. 

Yet, these artistic endeavors didn't quite align with the typical definition of income. They occurred sporadically, about 2-5 times a year, and yielded between $20 to $50 per commission. 

On the other side of this equation stood OP’s husband, who toiled diligently at his full-time job. He made $2800 monthly, while OP made just $400. 

At the end of each month, they surrendered their respective incomes into their joint account and were granted $50 each as an allowance—those were the rules.

Issues arose when OP’s husband, who didn’t share a similar source of extra income, suggested that they divide the commission earnings between them. 

They got equal allowances each month even though he made seven times as much as she did—it didn’t seem fair that she got to have extra spending money, and he didn’t.

OP argued that the money wasn’t significant enough to warrant that. It was just a means to keep the creative fire burning and replenish her art supplies.

Yet, when her husband suggested she allocate 80% to her art fund, then they split the remaining 20% evenly, she still wasn’t on board.

Was it unreasonable for her to want to keep her hard-earned art money to herself?

The story in detail

A little background

OP isn’t open to sharing her art commission, but her husband feels it goes against their income sharing agreement

Important edits

Here’s how the Reddit community reacted to the story:

“Anything you earn is income, by excluding your art you are essentially stealing from your joint account.“

“YTA. He puts everything he earns into the joint fund even though he earns much more than you do.“

“YTA. Does your husband get to keep his entire paycheck without sharing any with you?”

“If you wanted to be fair, the net profit would be split.”

“NTA. the people crying about the fair split are ignoring that after supplies, this is about $10.“

“You need to have a sit down talk about why he is feeling so worked up over this.“

“It’s such a small amount of money that I'm really surprised he's bothered by it?”

This is an interesting perspective on the matter

“NTA. I could not imagine nickel and diming my partner like that.“

Redditors have cast their judgment, and the majority find OP's reluctance to share her art earnings unreasonable. 

Sharing, they argue, should go both ways. Why not share the side income as generously as her husband shares his entire earnings? 

However, a few commenters pointed out that the commission is way too small to be considered as “income.”

We’d love to get your thoughts on this story. Join the conversation in the comments below.

Jesse