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Every day, he leaves for work in the morning, comes home for lunch, returns to work in the afternoon, and comes home late at night. Yet, he never brings home any money for the family. In the early years of our marriage, he didn’t contribute financially, but by the end of the year, he would manage to give me a small amount—usually a few million dong (VND1 million equals $38). But for the past two years, he hasn’t given me a penny.

I’m not complaining, but I’m the one handling all of our family’s expenses, including the utility bills, school fees for the kids, and daily groceries. While juggling work, I’m also calculating every penny, while my husband takes it easy, never thinking about what I need to do to support the family.

No one knows what he does, how effective his work is, or what his income is like. I can’t rely on him financially, and he doesn’t help with anything around the house. Honestly, if he can’t earn money, at least he could help with the household duties and take care of the kids so I wouldn’t have to struggle so much. But he doesn’t even do that.

What’s worse is that my in-laws always support him unconditionally. Whenever I bring up issues with my husband, my mother-in-law replies: “He’s a man, how can he do household chores?”

She defends him, as though it’s only women who are expected to carry the burden of the family.

I’m not asking for much. I don’t need a mansion, a car, or piles of money. I simply wish for my husband to have a stable job with a salary of around VND10 million, just to ease my financial burden a little. It would also help if he could assist with household chores, so I could get some rest after a long day of work. Or, if he stopped working and took full responsibility for the household, so I could focus on earning money.

But this simple wish, which many women might have, feels like an extravagant dream for me.

What should I do?