I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

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jkbarnes
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I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by jkbarnes »

In the last month and my wife has had to pay out a chunk of change for new siding on her house and another obscenely bigger chunk of change to rebuild a collapsed retaining wall that is, in part, holding up her house. We don't actually live together by the way. In fact, we're in different states. Long story...

Today she got hit with a big bill for a new compressor for the AC in her car. AC in the summer in the Washington, DC area is a non-negotiable must have. I told her I would pay for the AC if she'd let me because that's just the last thing she needs right now on top of the month she's had!

She said she'd let me do it on one condition - that in 18 months when the retaining wall is all payed off, I let her pay back the money for the AC. I told her that wasn't necessary, but she insisted that was the only way she'd let me do this.

So I said sure, figuring if in 18 months she still wants to repay the cost, I'll just put that money straight into our travel fund.

But now I've had a brilliant idea. 18 months will be approaching my 50th birthday. I had been thinking about telling my parents and my wife that I wanted to celebrate my 50th with a C60 Trident. Now if my wife insists on paying back that money, I might just tell her to simply get me a C60 as a birthday gift and be done with it.

Good idea or tasteless and crass? (...he types as he dives into his second Guinness of the night)
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Re: I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by Lavaine »

She wants to pay you back. I think that asking her to put that money towards something with meaning instead of cash is not tasteless at all. You get something you desire, she fulfills her promise to repay you, I'd call it a win-win.

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Re: I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by golfjunky »

sounds like a plan to me.
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Re: I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by H0rati0 »

Cool. Repaying money is just money, repayment with meaning, priceless.
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Re: I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by Savagemouse »

Like the others have already said. I think this will be a really nice gesture and not in anyway tasteless.

Either way fingers crossed that no more unexpected bills end up your wives way.
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Re: I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

I'm looking at it a different way.

Your wife lives somewhere else to you and is, it appears, wanting to be financially independent of you (reasons behind this are no doubt in your long story).

If her financial situation is such that, to get her car repaired she has to borrow the money, wouldn't it be a slap in the face for her that she repays you by buying a non-essential luxury item e.g. a watch?

My suggestion; keep the two matters separate.

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Re: I don't know if this is brilliant or horrible

Post by jkbarnes »

Bahnstormer_vRS wrote:I'm looking at it a different way.

Your wife lives somewhere else to you and is, it appears, wanting to be financially independent of you (reasons behind this are no doubt in your long story).

If her financial situation is such that, to get her car repaired she has to borrow the money, wouldn't it be a slap in the face for her that she repays you by buying a non-essential luxury item e.g. a watch?

My suggestion; keep the two matters separate.

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That was more or less the opposing vantage point that prompted the question. Thanks for weighing in.
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