I know there are others here who feel like they and their families are on completely different pages moneywise, but sometimes I just dont know how to handle things as they come up.
Every spare cent - my allowance, my half.com money - for the past 2 months has been going straight towards being able to go to Anchorage and have the baby. I havent even been putting MY OWN MONEY into my personal savings account, because Im worried about no having enough.
Which is fine, as it is, my money, and my choice.
But then, when my husband mentions that - due to the afterschool tutoring program he is currently running, he's already made about $260 this WEEK, and is going to buy a Wii with it - why does this bother me so much?
It is, in fact, his money, his choice. i KNOW that. I do.
And thats probably why I just twitched a little and told him I wasnt entirely comfortable with that.
He got an Xbox360 for Christmas, half from me, half from his parents. He bought several games for it. He used his allowance for the NEXT several months (note: next, not last) to buy the Windows Vista upgrade. He just got us an AeroGarden (this is why I shouldnt go out of town and leave him on his own. Infomercials!). And most of this was from HIS account - which we also have to pay bills out of.
We are still very very close to maxed out on four out of five credit cards - mostly maxed while he was in school full time, and I was working a lower paying job. And the other maxed to move us to Alaska in the first place.
We are making a very good wage up here, and we COULD afford it, especially with this tutoring job. He's right, he's worked alot, and the Wii isnt as expensive as the other systems, so he probably could easily buy it with his paychecks from the tutoring.
But it just feels like we are on completely different pages. And no matter how much we talk about it, I get frustrated, because I feel like he isnt hearing or understanding my concerns.
Any advice?
In Money Wii Trust
March 22nd, 2007 at 06:30 pm
March 22nd, 2007 at 07:07 pm 1174590444
It's his money, it's his choice as to how to spend it.
That would be true if he were single, but with a wife and baby on the way, i think the savings and sacrifice should come from both spouses, not just one. It would be good if you could somehow agree to some sort of plan that would allow some discretionary spending and some compulsory saving, a % from each paycheck.
would that be possible?
March 22nd, 2007 at 07:11 pm 1174590660
Tell us more about Alaska. Have you been seeing the Northern Lights this winter? How is the weather? Are 24 hours of darkness getting to you?
What made you decide to move there?
March 22nd, 2007 at 07:12 pm 1174590733
And yes, most money is considered OUR money. But the tutoring thing - that is HIS money, the way I see it. He is working over and beyond what is needed for bills. We could use it, yes, to pay off debt faster, but we dont NEED it. Which makes things a little more complicated.
March 22nd, 2007 at 07:18 pm 1174591091
Hmm.
Yeah, it does seem a bit strange to focus so much of the "disposable" income (even though there are several credit cards still maxed out and with a wife and a baby on the way...) on video games.
Kind of ironic since I love video games.
Anyways, I hope that you two find a way to be on the same page again.
March 22nd, 2007 at 07:20 pm 1174591210
We live in a fishing village on the far west end of Alaska. We moved up here to teach for a few years, as the husband just got his Masters in elementary and wanted to do something exciting.
We could see the Northern Lights during the winter, the later the better, but here we mostly saw the green - not so much all the colors. Supposedly we could see them now - but it doesnt really get dark now until 10 or so at night, and I dont want to get up at 3 am to see them! lol.
We arent far enough North for 24 hours of anything. The worst it gets is about 13/14 hours of either dark or light. Its not bad, really!
March 23rd, 2007 at 01:18 pm 1174655919
March 25th, 2007 at 01:07 am 1174784861
April 23rd, 2007 at 04:46 am 1177303615