The New Regime

Today a little piece of me died. Ever since I got my first job at the age of 14 all of my earnings have been mine. Of course as I got older and got better jobs, my take home pay went from a few bucks to quite a few bucks. Long gone were the days where a check of just under $300 was a lot of money that made my eyes bug out.

I am a spender. Big time spender. If I have $5, I wonder what I can buy. Money doesn't burn holes in my pockets anymore because my pockets were burned out a long time ago.

My husband is a saver. He is so frugal sometimes it is annoying. Remember the shoes? I mean, he won't even let me go buy cheap Tera cotta pots for a project without doing price comparisons. I kid you not. The pots that cost anywhere from .89 cents to $1.30.

They say a lot of contention in marriages is caused over money, so when we got married we dodged that bullet by keeping our finances separate and dividing expenses and household chores. He paid the bills, I cleaned and cooked all while getting to spend my money however I wanted.

Then we moved to Texas and had a baby. For some reason those two things caused my spending to get out of control. Not like crazy mortgage the house out of control, but enough for me to think something had to change. The more I tried to keep things in check, the more I spent. I am a total spendaholic. Buying things gives me a thrill. Even if its a pack of cheese. Sad, I know.

Finally one day I asked Hubs to take over my finances because I obviously couldn't do it on my own. He asked for my credit cards and told me to have my paychecks deposited into our joint savings. He would take over paying my bills using my money, and giving me an allowance every week. At first I cried. I sobbed. I felt like a piece of me was dying, but I was doing this for the greater good. I don't want my daughter to learn how to spend like I do. I want her to learn to be responsible like her dad. This was the best way I could teach her that. After I had a good cry, I was ready to start our new joint system.

Today, my husband and I officially combined incomes into one bank account. It is the beginning of a new regime. I hope this works because there is no going back now! I feel like it is the most responsible thing I can do.

Luckily I bought this sweet little thing before I handed over my money. Take a gander at that! Oh yeah, that's right, I have a "hick" pool, and it sits proudly next to the dogs' pool. Jealous?

Okay, you can stop rolling on the floor laughing. Its a pool, and it feels great on a hot day. That's all I need.

DH was actually on board with this purchase, so I didn't really sneak one under the gate, but its fun to think I did.

In other fun news, I got laser hair removal today! The only downside, you need about six treatments for complete hair removal spaced at 6-8 weeks apart. In 8 weeks we will be trying to get pregnant, which means I may only get two treatments before I have to stop, but DH prepaid for six. Thankfully he bought them all on a serious deal, so it won't be a huge loss, but a bummer none the less. I just hope I see some improvement before I have to stop. I guess if we lose the rest of our money on that one it will be worth it because it means something better happened. :)