Getting a promotion or switching career paths to a job that pays more is always a good feeling, especially if it means you now have the income to afford things you weren't previously able to.
But one woman has been left fuming after she recently received a significant pay increase - as her boyfriend has now demanded she uses her extra cash to pay more toward their household bills.
The woman explained she lives with her boyfriend in a flat that's fully paid off, and she even pays him rent at half of the current market rate for similar flats in their area.
The couple then split everything else 50-50, but with her wage increase, her boyfriend now thinks they should split bills proportionately to their incomes so that she pays more and he pays less.
In a post on Reddit, the woman said: "I live with my boyfriend in a flat he owns (fully paid off, his father gave it to him). The whole building was built six years ago and it's in a very popular area.
"I pay my boyfriend half of the market rate rent, which we update every year by looking at how much the flats are being rented out for in the building complex. Which is a lot of money, but I agreed to it. Other than this, we did everything else 50-50 in the past.
"I got a new job with a significant pay increase and now my boyfriend says we should start splitting expenses proportional to income because that's fair.
"I told him I don't think it's fair that I should start paying for more just because I got a new job, as nothing else has changed. I already pay him rent - enough rent that would get me a same-sized flat a few streets away - so it's more than fair to him.
"He made some, in my opinion, very weak arguments and accused me of ripping him off. That's when I told him that under no circumstances we will split expenses proportional to income.
"Now that I've calmed down a bit, I'm worried whether I'm in the wrong. Especially since my best friend told me that this is how they do it with her boyfriend too and my boyfriend owning the flat is irrelevant here."
Commenters on the post were largely on the woman's side, with many of them saying that if her boyfriend wants to start splitting their expenses proportionally, then she should stop paying him rent for a flat that's already paid off.
One person said: "I'd tell him you're okay splitting expenses proportional to income, but rent isn't an expense you guys have to pay, so you'll no longer be paying him rent."
While another added: "He owns the unit outright. He doesn't have to pay a mortgage or rent. I could see splitting utilities, upkeep, taxes, etc 50-50 since you both live there, but you paying 50% of the market rate for rent is just him taking your money."
And a third wrote: "Why are you paying rent for a fully paid-off living space? That's f***ing weird, your boyfriend sucks."
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