MyBlog0563

(almost) Daily Blather
2014-01-07 07:07:21 (UTC)

Maybe I am petty...

Let me set the stage.
Earlier this year I start getting check engine light codes on my motorcycle. When I can't figure out the problem and decide the bike need s to go into the shop my wife's response is "It will have to wait until tax time." Meaning it will be February at the earliest before I can even consider putting the bike into the shop.

I resign myself to this, even though I already know she has also earmarked the future tax return for repaying her father for a loan we needed to get the car repaired.

Move forward a couple of months. I get word that I will be recieving a couple of "extra" checks right before and right after Christmas. By extra I mean one check for the lump sum payment of my Cost of Living Allowance and then an incentive bonus for the company reaching certain milestones.

Knowing that the car was acting up again I hade a couple of ideas for using that money...before I even told my wife about the money. FIrst off, witht he large check I figured I could get the car in the shop and get the heater fixed. with the smaller check I wanted to replace both my wife's and my aging (and dieing) laptop computers with an inexpensive model from Walmart.

When I told the wife about the checks and I even braved the chance and told her my plans for the money. She was all for it! She even went so far as to say not only fix the car but to also get my bike in the shop!!!

I was on cloud 9!

Move forward in time a bit more. I get the first check, I schedule an appointment to put my car in the shop.

Once they diagnose the situation they tell me they can't duplicate part of the problem, however they think they figured out the other part. And on top of that they discovered a couple of other things that would need taken care of. I asked the worse case scenerio cost of what they have found. Miracle of all miracles, the total after taxes is just below the total of my first check!

So I give the go ahead to fix the car. The bike is once again put on the back burner. Yes, I know I have another check coming but that one is already earmarked for the computers, which we both figured would be our gifts to each other for our 30th wedding anniversary.

Now the wife is scoping out computers. We check out the lower priced one at Walmart, she wants to keep looking. We check several other stores, Walmart price is still lowest. SHe still doesn't want to drop the hammer and buy the computers.

Although she seems to be getting really free buying various other small stuff.

Fast forward to the Friday before New Years. I had been tasked to change the guts of the downstairs bathroom toilet. WHen I go to turn the water of I notice the tile around the base of the toilet does not look right. I press on it and it gives easily. I am now going to have to do plumbing and floor repairs. Long story short, I got that done. She had me put all expenses onto out credit card, not our debit card, which would come from our checking account.

My assumption, she is finally safeguarding the moneys set aside for the computersd and using our regular resources to take care of the stuff.

Wrong.

I asked last night when were we going to go buy the computers and I was told we weren't. That we had plumbing repairs and that money had to come form somewhere. That we can look closer to tax time and if we have the money we can buy then.

Thank GOD for that ever growing income tax return!!!




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