Presenting

For a long time I have wanted to be like those people on television - the men who surprise their wives with boxes wrapped in pretty ribbons, full of shiny rocks set in shiny metal, or the women who blindfold their husbands and walk them outside to a driveway occupied by a fancy car in an oversized box and with a Paul Bunyan-esque bow. We have the blindfold and the driveway, but that's where it ends.

Thing is, the wife and I have an understanding about that. First off, my taste in jewelry doesn't really exist. If it is shiny, I think it is adorable and want to buy it. This explains the basement full of tin foil. Well, that and the alien satellites. Foil hats dent so easily. The wife, thoughn is the one who has to wear the jewely so she wants a say in its shape or design. And, she doesn't to wear jewelry anyway.

Additionally, the money I make is ours as is the money she makes. So when I buy a gift for her, effectively, she is buying a gift for herself - there is no sacrifice on my part; I'm using her cash. Same with that car. We both drive and we both earn the money to pay for insurance, gas, upkeep etc. If she surprises me with a car, shouldn't it be a car I have vetted and we both can enjoy? And considering that the financial hit is shared, shouldn't she have consulted me? Didn't I have to sign something?

The entire idea of gift giving once you are married and have a joint account seems ridiculous. The better gift is to say "I haven't spent on myself recently so you have access to more to spend on yourself." Or maybe we should tell the IRS that we are "married filing surprisingly".


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