Okay, frugal mamas, I would like some advice.
My DH and I try to live frugally, which for us means living in a small, old house, freecyling, bargain hunting, and cooking from scratch, buying used, etc. We also both WOH in family-friendly jobs. The one major expenditure we have is that we pay for top-quality childcare and feel it's well worth it. Other than that we live very comfortably but frugally, with no major expenditures. We have managed to put aside a good emergency fund and have paid down our outstanding debt so we have no debt except our mortgage.
My DH and I are in agreement as to everything frugal except for one thing, and it's making me crazy.
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The problem is that DH is a car guy. He is NUTS about cars. He reads car magazines, he can tell you every single car fact there is, etc. etc. I totally do not get the interest at all but it's his hobby and I support him in that.
I would be fine if he just went to car shows and read the magazines, but now he wants to BUY a fast, ridiculously expensive car. He says that we've saved money for things like this and we should be able to enjoy our savings. I say that is a fine philosophy for the occasional new dress or computer game but NOT for a car that will probably cost like $20,000 to $30,000 *used* and God forbid, maybe even more. It's a price I can't even wrap my head around because it would take us so long to save that amount of money back up. [Edit: Even with digging into our savings, we'd have to get a loan for some of it. After we worked so hard to be debt-free other than the mortgage, too!:]
I don't even like driving, and I think our used 10-year-old car is doing a fine job for us. We don't have long commutes and live in a metro area with lots of good public transit. Basically DH wants this car because he is a car guy and it would be a car dream come true for him.
He is very respectful and is not hassling me about it. Maybe the absolute shock that I showed on my face when he suggested it must have made an impression or something because he hasn't brought it back up. But now I'm worrying that I'm denying him something he really, really wants.
Do any of you live with car nuts? How do live frugally with a car nut? Does your DP crave a ridiculously overpriced car, and how do you deal with that?
What IS it about cars, anyhow? I so do not get it.
My DH and I try to live frugally, which for us means living in a small, old house, freecyling, bargain hunting, and cooking from scratch, buying used, etc. We also both WOH in family-friendly jobs. The one major expenditure we have is that we pay for top-quality childcare and feel it's well worth it. Other than that we live very comfortably but frugally, with no major expenditures. We have managed to put aside a good emergency fund and have paid down our outstanding debt so we have no debt except our mortgage.
My DH and I are in agreement as to everything frugal except for one thing, and it's making me crazy.
:The problem is that DH is a car guy. He is NUTS about cars. He reads car magazines, he can tell you every single car fact there is, etc. etc. I totally do not get the interest at all but it's his hobby and I support him in that.
I would be fine if he just went to car shows and read the magazines, but now he wants to BUY a fast, ridiculously expensive car. He says that we've saved money for things like this and we should be able to enjoy our savings. I say that is a fine philosophy for the occasional new dress or computer game but NOT for a car that will probably cost like $20,000 to $30,000 *used* and God forbid, maybe even more. It's a price I can't even wrap my head around because it would take us so long to save that amount of money back up. [Edit: Even with digging into our savings, we'd have to get a loan for some of it. After we worked so hard to be debt-free other than the mortgage, too!
:]I don't even like driving, and I think our used 10-year-old car is doing a fine job for us. We don't have long commutes and live in a metro area with lots of good public transit. Basically DH wants this car because he is a car guy and it would be a car dream come true for him.
He is very respectful and is not hassling me about it. Maybe the absolute shock that I showed on my face when he suggested it must have made an impression or something because he hasn't brought it back up. But now I'm worrying that I'm denying him something he really, really wants.
Do any of you live with car nuts? How do live frugally with a car nut? Does your DP crave a ridiculously overpriced car, and how do you deal with that?
What IS it about cars, anyhow? I so do not get it.
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