At the time, Erin agreed.
Or at least, she didn’t argue.
By the time their second child arrived, it was no longer a conversation.
It was just how things were.
The System That Looked Fair—On Paper
Every month, Caleb transferred $1,400 into a joint household account Erin could access.
That money covered groceries, school lunches, gas for errands, kids’ clothes, over-the-counter medicine, and anything the children needed day to day.
Everything else—rent, utilities, insurance, car payments, subscriptions—remained under Caleb’s control.
From his perspective, it was structured.
Organized.
Fair.
“I’ve got the major bills handled,” he would say, scrolling through his banking app. “You just need to stay on top of the smaller stuff.”
What he didn’t account for was how often “smaller stuff” turned into real expenses.
