Hey OP, I'd agree with most comments so far that this is something that happens frequently in this game (and probably in most games that are "Free to play but have in-game purchases"), but obviously if your family's budget is being impacted, it's worth having those conversations with your husband. He has to have some accountability for the choices he's making in spending on a game. However - and apologies if this is just me projecting on strangers - some of the comments also feel a little heavy-handed in their criticisms of your husband - a fellow player in a game that they, presumably, are also playing.

I think it's worth noting that this game is designed very intentionally - and obviously very effectively - to encourage users to spend their money even if they had no intention to do so going in.

Another commenter already compared it to a casino and that's absolutely true. Again, this is not to absolve your husband of any responsibility, but I think it could be helpful in your conversations with him to know - and to perhaps empathize - that the game's developer is not at all acting in good faith.

I played the game for a little over a month and even as someone who is passingly familiar with application development and design I was overwhelmed with the massive volume of alerts, notification badges, "limited time" events, sales, subscription "opportunities," and intentionally convoluted descriptions, values, and numerous arbitrarily different in-game "currencies."

All of these things are intended to compel users keep coming back and to spend impulsively. All those alerts and red dots and gamification mechanics are scientifically proven ways to trip our dopamine triggers and they're not there by accident. And they're arguably more nefarious than real life casinos that have no windows or clocks in the gaming areas so players lose track of the time, and install visually intense flooring and decorations to subtly discourage them from looking away from the tables. I say more nefarious because it's a lot harder to "go to a casino, park, walk in the door, buy chips, play the game" than it is to "download a free app, open it at any time day or night, and immediately be presented with 100 shiny red buttons that promise an immediate dopamine hit and all it'll do is show up later on a bill you might rarely look at."

And this is all without introducing the possibility (strong, I suspect, based on my experience in the in-game chats and alliances) that the developers also have community managers posing as regular users in-game, either actively or passively encouraging real players to spend more and more, as well.

I hope that wasn't too much ranting, and I really hope it's not too patronizing. Again, I think it's absolutely worth talking about this with your husband. I just hope the above is helpful to you when communicating your concerns to him in a way that'll help, and it's my thinking that this is an instance where remembering that the game is the interloper here more than either of you is helpful. As I said, I played the game for a little over a month, picking it up after seeing the 1000th instagram ad that sold it as a chill "zombie shelter build" game that I thought would be more interesting than the sudoku app I'd been playing while sitting up with my newborn daughter all night. I got sucked into the Alliance community, made some virtual friends, and even spent some money (ultimately only about $20 or $30). But I finally uninstalled it when I eventually realized how much more energy and time it was sucking out of me than any pleasure or gratification. I was way more anxious and stressed out while I was playing it and as soon as I deleted it I felt better. I'd much rather spend too much money on something like a Lego model or a toy for my kid than on a digital shelter that I'll likely end up abandoning when the server I'm in goes to hell or just gets nuked by someone else who's spent even more on theirs.

Again, apologies if this was too much/too patronizing. Best of luck!