Here's a marital dilemma.Husband wants to go and see Bret Michaels play at Alley Cat tonight. Wife wants to see the "Rock of Love" rocker as well, but she's not too keen on the $44.50-per-ticket fee.
You read that right - $90 to listen to the obvious (duh, roses have thorns) and see the obvious (women throwing themselves at the bandana-wearing 40-year-old-something stud -- or, wait, is he 50?) And you know once husband and wife buy a few drinks, the tab will be over $100.
Granted, husband says he understands it is a lot of dough to shell out and is relying on wife to be the "voice of reason." Understanding husband tells loving wife he realizes the cost is high and if it's not a smart decision, the couple just won't go to the concert ... but then he quickly follows up with "but I really, really, really want to go!"
Here's the issue: how can wife turn down husband's request to purchase said tickets when she herself recently signed up for a YMCA membership that roughly equals the same price as the concert tickets? Wife wants to be fair, and there has to be some give-and-take, right?
Surely all married folk have been through this sort of issue before. It's not huge in the great scheme of things; however, it does reflect on the core values of a marriage, including compromise and budget managing.
So, what would you do?
P.S.: Ahem, ahem, details in this entry were changed to protect the marriage.
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15 comments:
Life is short. If you have the money go. My wife and I went out the night of the NCAA championship game and spent $150 just on drinks and snacks at a bar. We don't do this very often but we had the money and needed to cut loose a little. When will Bret be back?
I agree, if you have the money go and chalk it up to marital harmony.
Tell him to find a friend to go with so you don't have to go. Or, just go and enjoy the evening and remind him of the evening the next time you want to buy some cute designer shoes....in my opinion, the ticket price is WAY too high for just him solo. Poison, maybe, but just him? I don't think so.
Tell him to grow a pair and go buy a couple Motorhead albums instead.
Ninety bucks, plus a drink tab, to see an over the hill rocker who was just another front man in what was just another hair band in the eighties? C'mon. Watch him on TV, or tune in to Classic Rock, channel 69, on cable. I mean, how many versions of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" can you listen to before you puke? You do know that the song is one of the songs blasted into prisoners' cells in Guantanamo to torture them, don't you?
Better yet, give me the money and I'll make better use of it.
Hey, what's wrong with speaking to your lady with, "Goin' to see a show/event I've been wanting to see, do you want to go with me?"
Dang, marriage is a partnership, not a sentence...
just go... bring your lunch with you for a couple of weeks to make up for it. Life is too short.
how stupid. after analyzing it like that, no way you'll have fun even if you do decide to go. you'll just be counting dollars. good grief.
I'm with Anonymous 3:32.
Don't go; you'll gain points for making a mature, rational decision that obviously is for the good of the budget and the relationship.
Perhaps you'll even be rewarded later that night, if you know what I'm sayin', yo!
Has wife ever asked him to go to a nice dinner on an occasion that means a lot more to her than him?
Like maybe EVERY Valentine's Day where you can easily spend $100+ on dinner for two. If the money is not an issue for those then it should not matter here.
Wife should wear pants in family and scold husband like little child to set (continue setting?) pattern dictating how relationship work - to wife's advantage. Husband just necessary evil to wife's long term goal.
Wife should also learn part of speech called "articles" which include little words like "a, an, the" so next time wife write article, it not sound like bad prehistoric caveman dialog.
Better yet, go buy an Antiseen album.
I see a couple of references in the comments that would indicate that some folks are supporting "tit-for-tat". Or, in other words, essentially keeping tabs on what she gets versus what he gets, and how much it costs or how much the other person might not have really wanted to do it, but was "obligated" as a pay back. No wonder divorce rates are so damn high! It's not about keeping score folks. It's about enjoying each other and being with each other. I tend to agree with the folks who said if you have the money, go with it. However, I'd like to add that if you're really (I mean REALLY) not into Bret Michaels, you have a choice here...you can either go and be with your sweetie, or you can say "honey, I'm really not into him, but I want you to have a good time, why don't you invite your friend Bob..." or something along those lines. But don't hold it over his head if it's something you really didn't want to do and ended up doing anyway, and then expect payback when you want to do something he doesn't. It's not about keeping score; it's about sharing and enjoying yourselves. One last note, if you truly don't have the money, DO NOT spend what you do not have. Too many marriages endure heartache over money problems. Don't let that be something that undermines yours.
Life is too short. It sounds like you don't spend money on the town that often correct? Go and enjoy the evening, she's lucky she has a husband to go places with.
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