mr. bliss, mr. bliss... what, oh what, oh what shall i do about mr. bliss?
he came over and tsk-tsked me, saying it was a "damned shame" that i was on the computer. i told him i was blogging about him. he thought it funny.
all humor vaporized when i broached the virtue of honesty (as in "at least i'm honest about what i'm doing cuz i'm doing it right here in the open where anyone can see"). mr. bliss got defensive, he did. naturally, about the things he's not honest about. specifically the thing that leads to most of the disagreements in our house: m-o-n-e-y. more specifically, his relationship with money.
i won't get into the ug-galities of it all here cuz it would take more time than i have to give to the topic. but obviously our relationships with money differ. in this case, enormously so.
there are some very specific reasons my husband and i got back together. one of them was to reduce the amount of rent each of us was paying.
he has a notion that when the lease is up, we should be buying a(nother) house. one of the reasons i won't do that with him is because of his relationship with money. also, my daughter -- who has moved around a lot in her young life -- told me she does not want to move any time soon because she loves where we are now.
although the current rent is higher than i like, i love the area too and relocation is not on my to-do list for 2008. of course i'm open to other suitable options because i'm flexible. i'm just not as flexible as mr. bliss when it comes to financial responsibilities.
i am thankful i was brought up to respect the role money has in living. i like to use mine to live a stress-free, no-drama existence. besides the rent and utilities, we don't have a lot of bills. we have no-contract cell phones, a student loan (with a very low monthly payment), a car note (bought to replace a car that was both unsafe and a gas-guzzler, after over a year of deliberation and careful research), auto insurance for both our vehicles, gas for both vehicles (i fill up once a week to week-and-a-half, depending; he fills up almost every other day), and food.
there are no credit cards, we don't have cable or satellite, and i still use a dial-up modem. i buy most of our clothing from thrift and consignment stores or on clearance. i shop the sales for groceries as much as possible, even when i buy organic. i drive a hybrid car and combine trips to conserve gas. i borrow movies and music from the library instead of buying and renting. i do my own hair (and baby bliss's); do my own spa treatments at home; use inexpensive, non-toxic cleaners like baking soda and vinegar to keep the house tidy.
i do these things because it feels good to me to save money as much as possible. could it be genetic or is it just learned behavior? i don't know but i pray it rubs off on baby bliss.
why GOD? why did i fall in love with a spendthrift? i'm sure there's a lesson in this for me but can we make a deal God and relegate the lesson to next lifetime?
my mantra for the duration: mr. bliss will come to a realization on his own time, with or without me.
.
he came over and tsk-tsked me, saying it was a "damned shame" that i was on the computer. i told him i was blogging about him. he thought it funny.
all humor vaporized when i broached the virtue of honesty (as in "at least i'm honest about what i'm doing cuz i'm doing it right here in the open where anyone can see"). mr. bliss got defensive, he did. naturally, about the things he's not honest about. specifically the thing that leads to most of the disagreements in our house: m-o-n-e-y. more specifically, his relationship with money.
i won't get into the ug-galities of it all here cuz it would take more time than i have to give to the topic. but obviously our relationships with money differ. in this case, enormously so.
there are some very specific reasons my husband and i got back together. one of them was to reduce the amount of rent each of us was paying.
he has a notion that when the lease is up, we should be buying a(nother) house. one of the reasons i won't do that with him is because of his relationship with money. also, my daughter -- who has moved around a lot in her young life -- told me she does not want to move any time soon because she loves where we are now.
although the current rent is higher than i like, i love the area too and relocation is not on my to-do list for 2008. of course i'm open to other suitable options because i'm flexible. i'm just not as flexible as mr. bliss when it comes to financial responsibilities.
i am thankful i was brought up to respect the role money has in living. i like to use mine to live a stress-free, no-drama existence. besides the rent and utilities, we don't have a lot of bills. we have no-contract cell phones, a student loan (with a very low monthly payment), a car note (bought to replace a car that was both unsafe and a gas-guzzler, after over a year of deliberation and careful research), auto insurance for both our vehicles, gas for both vehicles (i fill up once a week to week-and-a-half, depending; he fills up almost every other day), and food.
there are no credit cards, we don't have cable or satellite, and i still use a dial-up modem. i buy most of our clothing from thrift and consignment stores or on clearance. i shop the sales for groceries as much as possible, even when i buy organic. i drive a hybrid car and combine trips to conserve gas. i borrow movies and music from the library instead of buying and renting. i do my own hair (and baby bliss's); do my own spa treatments at home; use inexpensive, non-toxic cleaners like baking soda and vinegar to keep the house tidy.
i do these things because it feels good to me to save money as much as possible. could it be genetic or is it just learned behavior? i don't know but i pray it rubs off on baby bliss.
why GOD? why did i fall in love with a spendthrift? i'm sure there's a lesson in this for me but can we make a deal God and relegate the lesson to next lifetime?
my mantra for the duration: mr. bliss will come to a realization on his own time, with or without me.
.
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