Did you eat much later than you normally do?
The General Chat Thread (2016-2022)
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Did you eat much later than you normally do?
A little later, yes. The supper club doesn't take reservations. They open at 5PM, we arrived at 5:30PM and didn't get a table until 6:45PM, then the food arrived steadily but slowly (as it should do).
We were eating our first course by 7PM, which is usually when we're finishing at home.
MrsTasty is paying bills - the first credit cards slips related to Christmas spending.
Let the heavy sighing, pointed stares in my direction, and gnashing of teeth begin!
Let the heavy sighing, pointed stares in my direction, and gnashing of teeth begin!
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I try to deal with this by squirrelling away a little cash every time hubby gives me any. So if I need $40, I'll say $45 or $50. Then the spare will get discreetly squirrelled and next time he asks if I have cash, I'll honestly open my wallet and say no or I've only got $5. (I don't yet have a sole account in Australia and because I don't earn, I haven't seen either the need or there necessity to pay for an account. Unlike the UK, they are not free. )
Come his birthday or Christmas weekday I'll take some money out of the account to buy something for him, not everything needs to be covered...
It also means I have a little spare tucked away just in case... not much but. (I don't often go into Canberra or Goulburn where the nearest ATMs are, so can't just withdraw money readily. Also ATMs and wheelchairs really don't mix well. )
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6am and 20°C. Humph
Well, you've got to understand my wife's mindset about money. It's something I have the hardest time understanding, as she grew up fairly well-off, and I grew up very money-poor.
She hoards money for the sake of money. She earns money to have money, not to then spend on things. Except for travel and for quality food ingredients, she lives like the crazy cat lady with a million dollars hidden under the mattress.
I can never grasp this, as I'm the exact opposite. I love spending money. I work a job I hate because it pays fairly well (especially since we don't have kids), so I can get money to buy things to make life enjoyable.
She doesn't enjoy spending money, she enjoys having money. Any time she has to spend more than $100 on something, she agonizes over it for a month, sucks it up and does it, then immediately starts moaning that she shouldn't have spent that money.
The thing is, she routinely gets in these funks where she pays bills, doesn't like what she sees, then declares a moratorium on all spending, and she'll convince me where about to be living on the streets and eating out of trash cans, until I look at the accounts and point out this bit of money and that bit of money and that other bit of money, and when confronted she says, "Yeah, but I don't want to spend that!"
So bill-paying time is always tense.
rascal
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Well, you've got to understand my wife's mindset about money. It's something I have the hardest time understanding, as she grew up fairly well-off, and I grew up very money-poor.
She hoards money for the sake of money. She earns money to have money, not to then spend on things. Except for travel and for quality food ingredients, she lives like the crazy cat lady with a million dollars hidden under the mattress.
I can never grasp this, as I'm the exact opposite. I love spending money. I work a job I hate because it pays fairly well (especially since we don't have kids), so I can get money to buy things to make life enjoyable.
She doesn't enjoy spending money, she enjoys having money. Any time she has to spend more than $100 on something, she agonizes over it for a month, sucks it up and does it, then immediately starts moaning that she shouldn't have spent that money.
The thing is, she routinely gets in these funks where she pays bills, doesn't like what she sees, then declares a moratorium on all spending, and she'll convince me where about to be living on the streets and eating out of trash cans, until I look at the accounts and point out this bit of money and that bit of money and that other bit of money, and when confronted she says, "Yeah, but I don't want to spend that!"
So bill-paying time is always tense.
I grew up poor in government home, wife also poor but they owned their own home. My first goal was buy my own home, after starting my family. We both freely spend money, no expense spared by me as I had my own business for nearly 30 years. Expensive holidays all around the world. We live a bit quietly now.
Russ
When my dad retired, he and my mom travelled all over the world -- first class. That was mostly a reward to my mom for all the time my dad spent working for many, many years.
But, I call my dad the world's cheapest millionaire. He pinches pennies on things. He dresses like a guy on welfare. He also goes cheap on things, like tools and such, that he should pay more for, because they never last. He is NOT cheap when it comes to cars -- well, not any more. Over the years, he drove most of my cars, and caught the bug. He drove one of my boats, and had to have one, too. I'm the devil on his shoulder telling him, "Go ahead, you know you want it."
When his penny pinching meets his big purchases, it gets interesting. He'll walk into a Mercedes dealer dressed like a pauper, and wonder why nobody offers to help him. I picked him up to go look at new cars once, and he was wearing green sweat pants, a red and white horizontal stripe shirt, and white velcro sneakers. He looked like one of Santa's elves. I told him, "I am not taking you anywhere wearing that." But, I love the moment when my dad tells the car salesman that he's paying cash. The look on the salesman's face is priceless.
TR -- My grandmother on my mom's side was a hoarder of money. She worked full-time as a legal secretary until well into her 70s. She died with close to a million in stocks and bonds, and about ten thousand in cash stashed around the house. While alive, she bought her clothes and household stuff at garage sales. A meal out was at the diner in town. It was all about "having" money for her.
CD
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Well, you've got to understand my wife's mindset about money. It's something I have the hardest time understanding, as she grew up fairly well-off, and I grew up very money-poor.
She hoards money for the sake of money. She earns money to have money, not to then spend on things. Except for travel and for quality food ingredients, she lives like the crazy cat lady with a million dollars hidden under the mattress.
I can never grasp this, as I'm the exact opposite. I love spending money. I work a job I hate because it pays fairly well (especially since we don't have kids), so I can get money to buy things to make life enjoyable.
She doesn't enjoy spending money, she enjoys having money. Any time she has to spend more than $100 on something, she agonizes over it for a month, sucks it up and does it, then immediately starts moaning that she shouldn't have spent that money.
The thing is, she routinely gets in these funks where she pays bills, doesn't like what she sees, then declares a moratorium on all spending, and she'll convince me where about to be living on the streets and eating out of trash cans, until I look at the accounts and point out this bit of money and that bit of money and that other bit of money, and when confronted she says, "Yeah, but I don't want to spend that!"
So bill-paying time is always tense.
I also grew up in a council house, very poor. Looking back I can distinctly remember my mother not eating with us all the time. Now I'm older I know why. My main meal was lunchtime at school, free school meals. Mum always made sure we ate dessert if there was one. Free school milk, until it was withdrawn, along with a couple of biscuits, brought me up on dairy. The meal i remember the most at home, was Heinz tomato soup with grated cheddar in it. If we were lucky, we'd also get a slice of bread with it.
I don't remember breakfast at all. It was like that until mum remarried when I was 8 or 9. Then they're was money but it came at a price and one that left a deep mark on me.
Now money is tight because I'm not able to work due to medical reasons. So we live off the one wage, running 2 vehicles out of necessity and safety. Mine only gets used when it absolutely has to be. It's cheaper for hubby to get the coach home and me meet him 12km away than it is for us to drive 2 vehicles into the city, park one up all day paying $12-15 all day parking and for me to drive home when it is convenient for me after a medical appointment. Squirrelling $5 here and there gives me the ability to buy hubby a birthday present that we can't really afford, such as a couple of nights away somewhere. Ends met just, but only if we're careful and don't eat out often, don't splash out and don't buy new stuff for the sake of it. That way we can service my vehicle once a year and hubby's even it needs it and we can go to the cinema and pay for the premium seats (the only ones I can sit in for the length of a film, they are recliners) and treat ourselves to some food/drinks during the film (it gets served to your seat at your requested time).
So I've seen both sides, from very poor to well off and I've been there with my husband, from just out of uni on one wage setting up a home for the first time running up massive debts, to having paid everything off and being able to pay cash for anything including second hand expensive, top of the range, cars. Had we have wanted to we could have afforded brand new top of the range cars from the likes of Audi or BMW, but I've never seen the point. Now we're back to watching cents and dollars and we're much happier, just less comfortable...
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This isn't my photo so I haven't posted it in the "Your Photos" thread.
This is our local coastal road. Needless to say, it's closed. Sadly the fire has crossed the road now. This is one of the smaller fires at a little over 125,000 hectares or 312,500 acres burnt. It's the one that is responsible for the smoke at our home right now. It's 100km or 65 miles away with only national park (that's bush land) and dry farmland between us and it. The prevailing wind is away from us, but right now it is constantly switching direction every few hours. It had been confirmed that it was a dry lightning strike that ignited it. That's what's forecast for this evening.
This is our local coastal road. Needless to say, it's closed. Sadly the fire has crossed the road now. This is one of the smaller fires at a little over 125,000 hectares or 312,500 acres burnt. It's the one that is responsible for the smoke at our home right now. It's 100km or 65 miles away with only national park (that's bush land) and dry farmland between us and it. The prevailing wind is away from us, but right now it is constantly switching direction every few hours. It had been confirmed that it was a dry lightning strike that ignited it. That's what's forecast for this evening.
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Exact opposite here... though due to the tilt of the earth, it's not actually the longest day here. That's sometime in January.
rascal
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Great story bout your dad, I used to deal with gold miners of the west coast, they were all millionaires but dressed like your dad, many a time I've heard when they go buy new Utes, salesman never give a second look, but when they hear cash, yes sir , no sir,lol. I was in a bar in a wee pub in hokitika 20 years ago, about 25 people in the bar, at least 15 were millionaires, in gum boots and jeans. Great bunch of people, many are still my good friends. You are lucky to,still have a dad.!!When my dad retired, he and my mom travelled all over the world -- first class. That was mostly a reward to my mom for all the time my dad spent working for many, many years.
But, I call my dad the world's cheapest millionaire. He pinches pennies on things. He dresses like a guy on welfare. He also goes cheap on things, like tools and such, that he should pay more for, because they never last. He is NOT cheap when it comes to cars -- well, not any more. Over the years, he drove most of my cars, and caught the bug. He drove one of my boats, and had to have one, too. I'm the devil on his shoulder telling him, "Go ahead, you know you want it."
When his penny pinching meets his big purchases, it gets interesting. He'll walk into a Mercedes dealer dressed like a pauper, and wonder why nobody offers to help him. I picked him up to go look at new cars once, and he was wearing green sweat pants, a red and white horizontal stripe shirt, and white velcro sneakers. He looked like one of Santa's elves. I told him, "I am not taking you anywhere wearing that." But, I love the moment when my dad tells the car salesman that he's paying cash. The look on the salesman's face is priceless.
TR -- My grandmother on my mom's side was a hoarder of money. She worked full-time as a legal secretary until well into her 70s. She died with close to a million in stocks and bonds, and about ten thousand in cash stashed around the house. While alive, she bought her clothes and household stuff at garage sales. A meal out was at the diner in town. It was all about "having" money for her.
CD
Russ
Russ
rascal
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Sounds simalar to me, dad at 17 , set up a flat for three of us, saved by working two jobs, full time plus cleaning at night. Weekly wage $75 and rent $17 for two bed flat. Worked to get good stuff for the home then bought a home, around 85 paid $19,000. Started own company in 91 then it was new Toyota hiluxes every 4 years. Now semi retired I just cruise, car is 8 years old, prolly should replace?
But I'm not bothered, life's good ATM.
Russ
rascal
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