When David announced he’d spent our car savings, I was furious. But when he told me it was for a trip to Paris for his mom, my anger reached new heights. We’d been saving for three years for a new car, something bigger and safer for our kids, and now that was gone.

David has a knack for impulsive decisions. In the past, it was gym equipment and a half-built treehouse, but this? This was different. He spent our hard-earned savings without consulting me. “It’s my mom,” he defended. “She deserves it.”

I couldn’t let this slide. I needed to teach him a lesson.

First, I called his mom, Melissa, who was unaware of the financial mess. She was shocked and offered to cancel the trip. “Family comes first,” she said. I then called the travel agency, got a refund, and put the money back in our savings.

When David found out, he was furious. “What did you do?” he demanded. I smiled and handed him the keys to our new car—the one we’d been saving for. “I bought it,” I said.

He was speechless. “You spent it without consulting me?” I countered, “Like you did?”

The next morning, I handed him a budget spreadsheet. “We need joint approval on big expenses from now on,” I said. He nodded reluctantly.

Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and David learned that lesson the hard way.