Financial manipulation and reckless spending
But where does the money go that you earn? If you think the little money you make is being managed responsibly, think again. This narcissist spends your hard-earned income on things that polish his image: clothes he does not need, accessories that make him look successful, status symbols that serve no practical purpose because he does not work. He’s a man who will prioritize his parents over his family’s well-being. Your children may have nothing to eat literally. The house may be falling apart. Bills may be piling up. But this man will somehow find a way to buy an expensive watch or shoes that make him feel superior and make him look good.
He will justify every single expense, and gaslight you into thinking that his purchases are necessary, while your concerns about basic survival such as your hunger are dismissed as being, “Oh, you’re too sensitive, too negative.” His spending habits are erratic, too. One moment, he’s acting like there is no money at all, and the next, he is spending recklessly on things that give him instant gratification. He has no concept of saving, and no sense of financial responsibility, and yet when the consequences of his spending hit, it is never his fault. He will blame his circumstances, his wife, his boss, his children, the economy anyone but himself when he’s the actual culprit.
Impact on children, growing up in scarcity
Unfortunately, the children of such a father grow up in a world of scarcity. If their mother isn’t financially equipped to keep things running smoothly, they have to fend for themselves. They do not get to experience a normal, smooth childhood. Instead, they learn from an early age that if they want something, they must work for it because their father will never provide it. The children start working at a young age, exposed to struggles that no child should ever have to endure.
When a father like this neglects his financial responsibilities, his children are left to pick up the broken pieces, and that neglect haunts them and follows them into adulthood. They carry the weight of financial trauma, making them prone to one of two things: either they become hyper-independent, take on an extreme burden of financial security, or they fall into the same cycle of dysfunction, mimicking the only model of manhood they were ever exposed to.
Continue reading on the next page
Sharing Is Caring!
