Hi Me68, glad you found SR, lots of support for you here.
Yes, you could go around like this for many many years, only you can make that decision (well he can too, but that's out of your control).
If you have had enough of this particular roller coaster, you really only have a couple of choices. You can stay, as you are, or you can leave (or have him leave). If you decide to make a boundary that you won't live with someone who drinks like that and is miserable to you, then that is in your control. I don't know your circumstances exactly, so I can't really elaborate on that.
As for the finances, I would strongly suggest you contact a family lawyer on Monday. Some even have free first consultations. I would go to see them or at the very least talk to them on the phone. You really need to know where you stand with the finances and what your rights are. I'm guessing you are not in a country/state/province that has community property laws?
That's really the first thing. People who drink a lot are, generally, erratic and not necessarily clear thinking, of course I can't say if your Husband is thinking clearly or not. You, however, are walking around on eggshells. He is threatening your financial security, as you trusted him and yet you don't feel you can talk to him about that. He drinks an enormous amount and causes havoc and hurt and then it's just ignored. Has it always been ignored?
If you decide you would like to separate, even for a while, there is no harm in speaking to him about his drinking, perhaps he is ready to change that, but if he is not, there is nothing you can say, probably, that will change his mind. You didn't Cause it, can't Control it and can't Cure it (the 3 c's).
All you really need, regardless of what he says or says he intends to do, is a plan. Where are you at (financially), where do you want to be (in your house with him leaving, in an apartment, staying with family etc). Once you have a plan, it's up to you when/if you act on it, but absolutely you should have one. That way you won't ever feel powerless.