I’m 19F, living with my 19M fiancé and his mother (FMIL). I've lived here for about a year and a half, and while the dynamic is a little weird sometimes, it mostly works.

Part of our “rent” is that I pay the electric bill. On top of that, I pay my own car payment, insurance, health insurance, and other personal bills. I also buy at least $200 worth of groceries for the house every paycheck. My fiancé and I live in an "attic space" with our own bathroom, bedroom, and living room. FMIL has the first floor and basement.

A few months ago (Nov/Dec), FMIL told us the electric bill was spiking,,, like over $300. We were shocked and immediately started doing everything we could to conserve. unolugging things not in use, turning off lights religiously, etc. We’re very careful with our energy use and honestly knew we couldn’t be the cause. Meanwhile, FMIL has a ton of plants and for them, she has at least 10 grow lights running constantly, plus a big lit display case she bought DURING the same time the bill spiked. Every time we come downstairs, every light in the house is on. Which I understand it's her house and she can do what she wants, the issue is how she kept insisting we were the reason the bill was so high.

Fast forward to this month: she tells us the electric bill is under $100. I was excited to hear that, but then again I was confused. How did it drop so much? Her explanation? “Oh, I found I was using a faulty extension cord that was the problem.”

…That’s it. No apology for months of blaming us. No acknowledgment that maybe it wasn’t our fault after all. She still expects me to pay the full bill, like usual. I gave her $100, which still covered the bill and then some, but didn’t offer more.

To add to the context: she takes all of my fiancé’s paychecks. He works full-time doing hard factory labor, and he’s lucky if he sees $200-300 a month. He says it’s fine because “she’s putting a roof over our heads,” but it really bothers me. I’d love to move out, but since she controls his money, I’d be the only one able to save, which feels incredibly unfair and overwhelming.

So… AITA for refusing to give her more than $100 this month toward the electric bill?

TL;DR: FMIL blamed us for a high electric bill for months despite her own heavy usage. Turns out it was a faulty cord on her end. She still expects full payment. I gave her $100, more than the actual bill. AITA?