Early-retirement wannabe

Bravepants

Since 2014 I've had two major splurges...a classic sports car and a piano! Both of these are my core hobbies, so naturally cost money, piano lessons, servicing etc. There was much eye rolling at the time of my spending and my partner questioned the rationale, BUT she has since come to see that at the end of the day it's not all about the destination in life, but about the journey too.


In any event the "tables turned" recently when she inherited a boat! I realised that I'm in no position to do any eye-rolling whatsoever! :rotfl:

Terron

DairyQueen wrote: »

I watched the film 'Suffragette' last weekend. The scenario you describe was approximated in the scene when the wife handed over her entire pay packet to her husband. That scene was set in the 1910s.

I don't suppose it showed a husband handing over his pay to his wife and then being given a small amount back as beer money. That was the norm in many working class communities before and after 1910.

Triumph13

This thread is making me feel very justified in my decision to work an extra couple of years beyond when we hit FI. We are now in a position where we just come in under budget automatically which definitely helps make for marital harmony.
The only categories on my expenditure tracking spreadsheet are 'credit card' and 'other' with a comment added if one of them is unusually high one month. We have separate bank accounts, but I have all the passwords to DW's accounts so I can get the numbers to add to the spreadsheets. Joint main credit card (to maximise cashback) but we keep the secondary cards separate to stop anyone getting hints about their presents!

mgdavid

michaels wrote: »

This all makes sense to me. However I do wish I had married your DW rather than mine

yes that thought ocurred to me as well !!

cfw1994

That was an unusual diversion into controlling finances!
Hugheskevi - it sounds to me like your wife broadly agrees with your desire for early retirement, but before reaching that position, would like to live a little. I understand your eco-desires - I bet many here have a toned down agreement with much of that (& I say that as a fairly guilty consumer), but I would urge you to remember life is for living, don't wish it away!

We discuss pretty well all things as a couple, but with DW being a Scot, I often have to suggest she spends some money a little more often!

justme111

atush wrote: »

Oh dear, bought a new sofa this year. but the old one was falling apart and was nearly 20 years old. One reasdon I bouht it is I had 500 quids worth of tesco vouchers to spend before Tesco Direct closed. is that profligate? The one I am sitting on now is 15 years old.

I am glad that you are getting your money worth out of your sofas. You do not need to justify your purchases to me - you know whether you need a sofa at all and when you need the new one and whether you could find a second hand one to use instead that would fit and you would like etc .
I was just pointing out environmental impact of which I am not sure not many people are aware - I looked into it when debating with vegan step children and it stunned me. I do not remember the numbers - may look them up again - clothes shopping for £100 every quarter carried hefty impact as well. The worse one is flying though...
I must say I was walking in the shopping centre yesterday looking at shopping windows and felt sharply how absurd it was for a society to spend so much money and space on so ugly clothes.
Sorry for digression although I suppose it is linked to the topic- what our priorities are in working and using earned money for .

happyandcontented

The problem is that retirement is not promised to any of us. All of the planning and hoarding could be for nothing. Like anything else, it is a balance. And when you earn as much as 7k between you after tax then a little leeway should be built in.

I don't think the issue here is spending money though, clearly, expenditure is acceptable in other areas. It is a control issue.

Two adults living together should be able to organise their lives without that level of control being applied.

mgdavid

happyandcontented wrote: »

..........

Two adults living together should be able to organise their lives without that level of control being applied.

Then again, to aim that statement at the poster is in itself dictatorial and.... controlling !
It seems they have worked out an amenable way of hitting their financial objectives, who are we to criticise?
None of our business is my view. Far too much Orwell in today's world....

happyandcontented

mgdavid wrote: »

Then again, to aim that statement at the poster is in itself dictatorial and.... controlling !
It seems they have worked out an amenable way of hitting their financial objectives, who are we to criticise?
None of our business is my view. Far too much Orwell in today's world....

Have they, or has he?

If you post on here you will garner comment. That is the nature of a forum.

Marine_life

We have completely pooled our finances for many years, largely because my wife was always running up credit card debt and I was 'lending' here the money to pay it off in full.

I have to say that we neither budget but neither are we spendthrifts.

Our overriding rule is that if we're going to buy something then we should search for and negotiate the best deal possible.