YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE • YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE • YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE • YOUR SECRETS FIND A HOME • YOUR JOURNEY IS PRIVATE • YOUR WORDS ARE SAFE •
The StruggleAddiction

I take money from the joint account in amounts small enough my wife will not notice

Dear Delyara, I gamble online. My wife knows I had problems years ago and believes I stopped. I no longer make obvious £500 deposits. I take £20 here, £30 there from our joint account and label some transfers as fuel or lunch. I have become an accountant for deception. Last week, our daughter needed new football boots. My wife said we should wait until payday because the account was lower than expected. I knew why. I had lost £180 in small amounts over ten days. I offered to use my credit card for the boots so I could look generous inside the problem I created. My daughter hugged me. I felt sick. Gambling used to look dramatic in my life: debt letters, shouting, promises. This relapse is quiet. Bills still get paid. I still go to work. Nobody is checking my phone. That makes it easier to tell myself it is not serious. Tonight, I moved £25 while my wife was brushing her teeth. I stared at her name beside mine on the banking app and did it anyway.

ANONYMOUS