{"id":630702,"date":"2026-08-10T19:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/630702\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T19:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:41:09","slug":"im-spending-most-of-my-disposable-income-on-a-glp-1-my-spouse-doesnt-get-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/630702\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Spending Most of My Disposable Income on a GLP-1. My Spouse Doesn’t Get It."},"content":{"rendered":"

Pay Dirt is Slate\u2019s money advice column. Have a question? <\/strong>Send it to Kristin and Ilyce here<\/strong><\/a>. (It\u2019s anonymous!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Pay Dirt,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our insurance doesn\u2019t cover GLP-1s, so I currently spend about 80 percent of my budgeted \u201cfun money\u201d on mine. My husband\u2019s upset because he wants to go out to concerts or vacations together, but I can\u2019t afford it the way I used to. He thinks it\u2019s unnecessary and I should give it up because I don\u2019t have any metabolic\/blood pressure\/cholesterol health problems. He\u2019s naturally skinny so he doesn\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n

I was about 30 pounds overweight my whole adult life, despite daily running and lifting and a careful diet. The weight went up if I changed that routine, but it never went down. Until I went on a GLP-1 last year and lost it easily. With it I\u2019m seeing huge changes: doctors take me seriously about sports injuries or my lifelong asthma. Neither has changed but my medical experiences are much better. Strangers are kinder. It\u2019s easier to fit clothes, and the world feels designed for me. But the most damning difference is work.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been in the same job for about three years, and doing the work of a role above me for almost two. They kept saying I \u201cwasn\u2019t ready\u201d for promotion, but never giving specifics. I job searched but my field is decimated by recent federal policy. After the weight loss, my managers were suddenly commenting on my \u201cfocus\u201d \u201cwork ethic\u201d and \u201cimproved polish with clients.\u201d I definitely started getting positive comments about my professionalism a few months into my GLP-1, and I wasn\u2019t doing anything different at work. I got promoted. It\u2019s mostly going towards increased cost-of-living, nothing sexy. But it\u2019s clear to me that my weight is a key to getting taken seriously so I can\u2019t afford to gain it back. My doctor says if I go off it, I\u2019ll likely regain even with a solid diet routine.<\/p>\n

How do I find a way forward with my husband on this? I also would love to go on an expensive vacation, but not so badly I\u2019d go back to the way I was treated before. I could switch to a sketchier online pharmacy but I\u2019m reluctant to do that. At the same time, I don\u2019t want to hold our hobbies hostage to non lifesaving pharmaceuticals?<\/p>\n

\u2014Not Essential, But Really Not Optional<\/p>\n

Dear Not Essential, But Really Not Optional,<\/strong><\/p>\n

From where I sit, your husband is missing the whole point. He\u2019s framing this as a fun-money tradeoff\u2013concerts vs. prescriptions\u2013when what you\u2019re making is a career and health investment. This isn\u2019t \u201cfun money.\u201d It\u2019s an investment in your career, which has already paid off with a whole lot of positive feedback from your superiors, not to mention a raise. Weight bias is well-documented, and it sounds as though you\u2019ve experienced more than your fair share.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n <\/p>\n

    My Family Is Trying to Push My Grandma Out of Her House. Their Ulterior Motives Are Plain as Day.
    \n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n

  2. \n <\/p>\n

    I Agreed to Help My Boyfriend Build a House. Nine Years Later, We\u2019re Still Living in Ruins.
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  3. \n <\/p>\n

    My Son Is Showing Signs of Having \u201cBasement Dweller\u201d Energy. I Need to Fix It Before It\u2019s Too Late.
    \n <\/a>\n <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, it\u2019s time to change the framing. Stop having this conversation as a \u201cfun money\u201d problem. Instead, treat it as a household budget problem. If this medication protects your earning power and enhances your medical care, it belongs in the same category as your commute or your professional wardrobe and should be treated as a shared household expense, not your personal indulgence. That reframing alone may change the tone of the conversation, because right now your husband thinks you\u2019re choosing a luxury item, like a monthly facial, over him.<\/p>\n

    Next, is there a way to find additional funding? Check whether your employer\u2019s plan has an appeals process or whether a different plan during open enrollment covers GLP-1s. Ask your doctor about manufacturer savings programs, whether a compounded version through a legitimate telehealth provider is an option, or if you can take the pill version, which is far less expensive and may be covered by some formularies. Just skip the \u201csketchy online pharmacy,\u201d because that could be a real safety risk.<\/p>\n

    Finally, you and your husband need to have a heart-to-heart over the heartless and thoughtless way you\u2019ve been treated over the years, by doctors, strangers, your own employer and, yes, your husband. Hopefully, he recognizes how wrong he has been and offers to help find a way to afford your medication and the travel he craves. If not, then your marriage has bigger problems than a tight budget.<\/p>\n

    \u2014Ilyce<\/p>\n

    Classic Prudie<\/p>\n

    My husband and I were recently on a trip to a resort in Mexico. We ran into some friends of ours who were traveling with their college-age teen daughter. My husband was very friendly with the daughter as he enjoys talking with young people.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Get the latest from Prudie and our columnists in your inbox each weekday, plus special bonus letters on Saturdays.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pay Dirt is Slate\u2019s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Kristin and Ilyce here. (It\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[274],"tags":[3500,18,135,19,17,462,234,3700,4638],"class_list":["post-630702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-advice","tag-eire","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-medication","tag-personal-finance","tag-relationships","tag-slate-plus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117072919676062992","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}