We all have that one person in our lives who tends to be a bit tightfisted, but what happens when that individual is a part of our own family? In today’s story, we’ll delve into the experience of a woman who, exhausted from dealing with a sister-in-law constantly seeking ways to economize at the expense of others, discovered a drastic solution to put an end to the issue once and for all.
My 26-year-old sister-in-law lives in another city and comes to visit frequently. She stays with us instead of a hotel and always wants to go to expensive restaurants. She always conveniently forgets her wallet or comes up with some excuse as to why she can’t pay her share. She has implied that since I make much more money than her, I should be the one to pay—not my husband, but me specifically. I do make a fair amount of money, but not so much that I can treat someone every time they come into town. Nonetheless, in the past, I have just paid the bill and asked her to pay me back. She never has.
Last night, she had made a reservation at an extremely expensive restaurant, and before we left, I made it very clear that I would not be paying her bill this time. That’s where I may have overdone it, and I admit I saw that trick in an episode of Two and a Half Men.
As we were leaving, she and my husband went straight to the car. I pretended I’d forgotten something and went back inside. I found her wallet right on top of her suitcase. I put it in my purse, and we went to the restaurant. When we were done eating, I asked for separate checks, only one because she “had forgotten” her wallet again. I reached into my purse and said, “This wallet?” She was extremely furious. She said that I should not have touched or grabbed her wallet.
By the way, my sister-in-law saw that I posted this story and was furious because I had made her look bad on the internet. Honestly, I don’t care. I hope that she’ll learn her lesson and see it as a wake-up call. As we have seen, the topic of money often proves to be a stumbling block in family relationships. In another article, we shared the story of a woman whose mother-in-law demands money for cleaning their house, even when she is not asked to do so.