Savings box scheme ends

The little savings box is no more.

Maiyuu has hidden it in his room, and with it the B2,000 we saved.

I started the savings scheme because I believe we needed money set aside for unexpected bills.

We also decided to put the money towards dental treatment which Maiyuu has has been putting off for years, but which I have persuaded him to start at the end of this year.

I suspect Maiyuu will need many visits to catch up on basic maintenance ... remove rotten teeth, or fill them. We need to have money set aside, or the bills will be hard to pay.

Our humble savings scheme encountered problems from the start, when Maiyuu, worried I would dip into our savings to pay general expenses, removed the cash in the box every two weeks just before pay day, when money is short and I might be tempted to raid it. 

After pay day, when we were flush again, he would replace it, as he knew I would no longer be tempted.

Eventually he bought a lock for the box, which sat in my bedroom.

Yesterday I picked up the thing and gave it a shake. I could not hear the sound of money rattling about inside as I had in the past.

I suspected Maiyuu had helped himself to the money one day, and squirreled it away in his room.

I took the box out to the kitchen where he was working, and asked him where the money had gone.

Angry, he took the box away and hid it in his room. He insists he has not removed the money, but to be honest I no longer care.

‘Savings schemes require commitment on both sides,’ I told him. ‘I want you to get dental treatment because you have put it off for long enough.

‘We are approaching our 10th anniversary; I want to have something to show for it,’ I said.

I can see now that I should never have enlisted Maiyuu's involvement in the savings scheme, as he does not understand its importance.

He’s Thai, so he lives from day to day.

If he wants to save for his teeth now, he shall have to do it alone, as I will no longer offer to contribute.

I shall put aside money for unexpected bills, but I will do it alone. He won’t be told when, or how much.

The BF’s feral behaviour where money is concerned is unfortunate, as it limits his options. 
‘If there is no box, I can no longer save for your teeth,’ I told him.

I was prepared to put aside my own money every month to help pay for his teeth. No more...now, he’ll have to do it himself.

‘Once, in the West, I saved I deposit for a home,’ I told Maiyuu. ‘My girlfriend and I lived frugally for years. It was tough, but it was a joint commitment, which made reaching the goal easier. In the end of it we were able to buy our first home.’

For Maiyuu, the discipline of putting aside money has just become that much harder, as I will no longer be there urging him to do so.