I retired nearly a year ago, my monthly salary is more than 9 million VND. Before, when I was still working, in addition to transferring money to my wife, I occasionally had work money, bonuses or royalties. I kept a little to drink coffee and meet friends without having to report.
Since retiring, all income has only one line left: pension. On the day the money came, my phone just reported "ting" when my wife asked: "Has the salary come yet, sir?".
Before I could answer, she read it fluently: Electricity and water bills, market bills, blood pressure medication, wedding money for my friend's child, lucky money for my grandchild. After adding and subtracting, she transferred almost the entire amount to her account, giving me 1 million VND to spend for the whole month.
She said retired men only need coffee and gasoline money. But a cup of coffee with a friend is already 30,000-40,000 VND. Occasionally, when there is a drinking party, a wedding or I want to buy something for myself, I have to beg my wife.
The hardest thing was last month, a group of old classmates organized a meeting. My ex-lover from abroad also attended. We are both over 60 years old, meeting just to ask about life, no more love affairs. Yet taxi fare for both ways was nearly 400,000 VND, not to mention food contributions.
I asked my wife for 1,000,000 VND, she immediately asked: "Who did you meet that cost so much?
Hearing her ex-lover's name, she said: "Then stay home and make a video call to save money.
In the end, I didn't go. Not because I was afraid of my wife, but because there were only 163,000 VND left in my account, calling a one-way taxi was not enough. Thinking about it was also "heartbreaking", funny: My whole life working, when I reached retirement age, if I wanted to meet old friends again, I also had to prove the purpose of using the money.
Some friends taught me how to set up a "black fund": Keep the money my child gave me, declare low pensions or secretly send it to another account. I think that way is not okay. A small amount of money but having to lie will sooner or later turn into a big deal.
I chose to tell my wife directly. The two of us agreed that after deducting living expenses and savings, each person would keep 1 million VND as a personal fund. Anyone who spends money on anything does not need to explain, as long as they do not borrow and do not affect the common amount.
My wife agreed but still instructed: "If you want to meet your ex-girlfriend, just go. Your private fund will pay for taxis yourself".
From then on, I understood that retired men do not necessarily have a "black fund" but should definitely have a separate amount of money clearly agreed upon by husband and wife. Not to do something shady, but to let people who have worked their whole lives still have some self-determination, even though sometimes that right is only enough for a taxi ride and a cup of coffee with their ex.
That's life, you have to be decent and brave, going out you have to have 1,000,000 VND on you, who would just go out of the house and beg to get back the money they earned like the old friends in the walking group in the same neighborhood.
