Although we knew in March that my chapter 13 was almost paid off, we had to keep making payments until it was officially discharged. That meant over-paying by a certain amount. That amount wasn't clear until Friday, when we got the refund in the mail.In the meantime, we decided that whatever the amount, we would allow ourselves to spend it, all of it, on anything we wanted.
When the check came we divvied up the money.
My share is already gone. I spent it in just four days. It nearly drove me crazy having that cash. I considered buying a DSLR camera, a new cell phone, an HDTV for the bedroom, and/or a sewing machine.
What did I end up buying? First, Court and I went together on a Wii, (including the Wii Fit and Wii Sports). We've been wanting one since they first came out, but the cost was always out of reach until now.
I suck at video games, so I am sure to suck at Wii. But if it will help me lose weight, then I don't care how bad I suck at it. I want to look good naked and I'm willing to do what it takes to get there (short of liposuction).
Even with that purchase, I still had a fair amount of money left over. The pressure to spend it was killing me.
So I did something a little crazy. I bought a banjo. It's a used banjo of course; new ones cost a small fortune. Beginning next month, I'll be taking lessons every Tuesday afternoon with Warren at East Jesus Music. I'm really psyched about it.
I'm glad the money is spent. Now I can go back to complaining about my allowance.
9 comments:
I had a banjo once. It was a lot of fun to play especially if you are nimble of finger. I really want a violin (fiddle) now.
Go for it. We can start our own bluegrass band.
interestingly ...this is the third blog i have read this week with a money theme. I find it very interesting that so many gay couples speak of their money in separate terms. my money...her money...
hmm.
oh.. and fiddles are nice too :)
Trop- BP will be so jealous, she really wants a banjo. Of course she also really wants new pick ups for her old electric guitar, so, you know.
We recently got a nice size check for freelance work BP did. Instead of being completely responsible, though we were mostly responsible, we decided to spend a portion of it on something fun. So, we bought a PS3. It. Is. Awesome.
Let me know how you like the Wii Fit. We've been thinking about getting one for a while now, but didn't know if we'd keep up with using it. I imagine we'd get more use out Rock Band for the PS3.
Weese- I find it interesting too. It always strikes me as weird when married couples keep their money separate.
In our family, the money all goes to the same pot. There isn't mine and hers money. It's OUR money.
We have multiple checking accounts, but they are for line items in our budget (one just to have a separate gas debit card, and another just for medical expenses, etc.).
Every cent is accounted for. We live on a pretty tight budget and will continue to do so. Out of that budget we each get a monthly allowance ($100) to spend as we wish.
That's what made this windfall so maddening for me. Except for my allowance, I never have *my* money to spend on anything I want.
Congrats on your new purchase! All the banjo players I know are fun folks, I can see why you picked it.
We have yours, mine, and ours accounts. Everything we do together is from joint money (dinners out, vacation, groceries, various savings accts, bills etc). Our individual accounts are for gifts, clothing, my former student loan, Sara's investments, and individual savings.
There are perks. For instance, because we cannot marry and our finances are/were separate, I qualified for a first time home owner loan. If Sara were included on my application as joint income, we would have been ineligible.
I could go on and on about why we started it that way, how it has changed, and what the final goals and merger will be like and why... I should save it for a blog post instead of filling up your comments.
"I never have *my* money to spend on anything I want."
I need to change that to *rarely*. Those years before I left my college job and I was doing both jobs, I was wee bit selfish. I'd take a small portion to spend on whatever I wanted. The first year it was a digital camera. The next year it was a nascar race. Last year it was the HDTV in our family room.
For some reason, those instances didn't drive me crazy like this one did.
And I am NOT snickering at Guy's suggestion that I'll have fun with the banjo if I am "nimble of finger."
Trop, if Syd drops by she will do the snickering.
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