His Excel, Her Fortune

Synopsis

I got divorced four months after getting married. No cheating, no abuse, just because of an Excel spreadsheet. That night, I came home late from work. Fernando Werner was sitting at the computer and called me over, saying he had something to show me. I thought it was a travel guide, but when I leaned in, I saw a shared document on the screen titled "Family Financial Allocation Plan (Final Version)." He didn't give me a chance to have a say. All he did was inform me of the "Final Version." The spreadsheet was all neat and color-coded. Blue was for his expenses: mortgage, car loan, and monthly transfers to his parents. Pink was for mine: utilities, property fees, groceries, daily necessities, give-and-take in social relationships, and money set aside for our future kid. I stared at the pink section for a long time before saying, "So, your salary only pays for your own assets, and mine is supposed to cover everything else for the family?" Fernando pushed up his glasses and replied, "It's called splitting responsibilities. That's how young people handle things nowadays." "Really? Show me one couple who actually does this." Fernando didn't answer. Instead, he scrolled down the spreadsheet and pointed to the notes at the bottom, where it read: [In case of special circumstances, both parties will negotiate adjustments.] "What do you mean by 'special circumstances'?" I asked. "Like when you're pregnant and can't work, you can take money from the joint account," he replied. "Who's putting money into this joint account?" "We each put in 300 dollars per month." Fernando made 8,300 dollars a month, and I made 3,000 dollars. We each put in 300 dollars. That was what he called fair.