ABHA, 1 June 2007 — Many women have admitted that they do benefit a great deal from the change they find in their husbands’ pockets. Many said that they use this money for their children and other family needs. Others said that saving change is of great benefit when their families have financial problems. Some believe that there is nothing wrong in taking the money, especially if the husband is stingy and the wife uses the money for the needs of family and children. Others however, maintain that regardless of the intention, these acts are simple robbery.
“I fear the future so I need some savings,” Fatima told Al-Watan newspaper. “I take money from my husband’s pocket, and I make sure that he doesn’t know it. I learned this lesson after I was divorced and found myself with no money. At present, I am saving from the pockets of my second husband.”
Nisreen said that her husband was a waster. “My husband spends whatever he finds and he never saves anything. I have, therefore, begun collecting the change from his pocket without telling him. After three years, I managed to give my husband SR8,000 which was useful in paying his debts.”
Alia said that she was against taking any money from her husband. However, she said that she finds herself forced to take some because her husband is very stingy and does not buy the family things except for real necessities. “He does not give me money even to buy winter clothes for our children. He does not buy school supplies for them as he considers that wasteful. I have never thought of saving anything. I only take money to buy necessities for the children. I do not want my children to go astray or to become thieves,” said Alia.
Wafa Saeed said that a wife must tell her husband that she is taking money from his pocket; the wife, she said, must make it plain to her husband that her intention is to save money for the family. “Some wives take the money for their own benefit.”
Al-Bandary said that one woman she knew had saved SR80,000 by telling her husband that she was spending money because of increasing demands on both the family and children. “In fact, she would spend very little on the family or children but would keep most of the money for herself.”
Nura said that she saves money from her salary which her husband normally takes from her and uses for himself. “I should have put restrictions on his use of my money from the beginning. Now I do not tell him about any increase in my salary or any extra and additional money I get from my job,” she explained.
Hala Zuaitar, a sociologist, said: “This act is of great benefit to the whole family, especially if the husband is a waster or if he is stingy. Some wives might take money from their husbands in order to control them, thinking that by this means, their husbands will have less of a chance to look for other women.”
Manal agreed that taking the husband’s money was all right as long as the aim was to support the family. She added, however, that if the intention were to prevent the husband from remarrying, the wife in this case could be described as lacking confidence, not only in her husband but also in herself. “The husband in this case must comfort his wife and explain to her that money is not the only means to a happy marriage.”
