Tax Rebate- What to Do?
Thanks to our failing economy and a President who can't go two minutes with out uttering the words "tax cut" and a Congress who all want to get re-elected really bad, I'm getting a check for $1,800 sometime in May. I'll take it.
You'll noticed that I used the words "I'm" as in I was the one who earned this money therefore it is mine. All mine. Since Becky reads the newspaper once every decade I could have easily never mentioned the tax rebates and I would have been able to hoard the money all to myself. I'm sure some wife in the Wednesday morning playgroup would have eventually spilled the beans.
Playgroup Wife: "We bought a nice new bedroom set with our tax rebate last month."
Becky: "Oh, we got our tax refund back in February, I think Scott put it in the bank."
Playgroup Wife: "This isn't a tax refund, this is the rebate that we all got in May."
Becky: "May? Why it's June. How come Scott has never mentioned this? (Thinks for a minute) He told me he borrowed those new golf clubs from the neighbor to "try them out". I guess we'll be having a little talk when he gets home tonight. (Slowly getting fired up) Whatever, I'm not waiting until tonight, where's my cell phone?"
Hence Becky knows all about the $1,800 and the potential arrival of said money. However this is when the negotiations begin.
I've been eyeing the BYU vs. Washington football game on September 6th for two years now. I always thought that we'd drive up to Richland, pick up Dad, Dave, Kim and whoever else wanted to go. Then we'd be off to Seattle to meet Spencer and his family. We'd have a little barbecue at his house Friday night. Maybe some Costco 1/3 pound burgers or some foot-long hot dogs. We'd sit and reminisce of past BYU games, past BYU road trips, past BYU bowl games, and the glory days before we all got married and had to become responsible adults. We pound some root beers and enjoy the nice cool breeze of a Seattle fall evening.
Alas, a lot has changed in the last two years. Dad heads off on a mission and our family reunion is scheduled four weeks before the game. That means two trips to Seattle in the course of a month. That's some pretty serious travel, but I'm willing to make sacrifices.
The reunion is a done deal and the whole family is coming. We're driving and it should be a pretty dang fun trip. But how do I make the trip again a month later? Does the whole family come? Do we drive? Do I really want to be in a car with and almost 4 year old and an almost 2 year old again?
*Light bulb comes on* I've got $1,800 in cold hard cash coming my way in May. Maybe I could stash some of it away and fly to Seattle and catch the game. This is all starting to make too much sense. What about the kids? What about Becky? We have ICMA two weeks later so we can't ditch them to relatives. Think, Scott. You're a smart guy. This is BYU football we're talking about here.
Scott: "Becky I've got a proposal for you."
Becky: (Rolling eyes) "What do you want to buy this time?"
Scott: "Here's the deal. We're getting $1,800 in free money. Let's split it 50/50 but not question how the other spends the money. You can buy all the crafts you want and I won't blink."
Becky: (The $900 offer doesn't even phase her) "So what are your plans with the money?"
Scott: "The rule is: You can't question the use."
Becky: "No deal. Unless I know what you're going to spend it on."
Scott: (Trying to talk real fast so Becky doesn't get all the details) "I really want to go to this game and it would be fun to spend some time with Spencer and Dave and their families and I would have to fly and I would get home as soon as I can on Sunday and I'll take Aubree with me if that helps my chances and I love you and you're the greatest wife ever and it's all free because we're commanded by the government to spend this money to stimulate the economy."
Becky: "I'll think about it."
Scott: (Smiling) Thinking to himself: "The seed is planted."
Therefore the seed is in full bloom. I've got permission to go. Becky says it's not necessary to take Aubree (I was planning on Heather taking care of her the whole time anyway :-)) and to top it off the Mariners are playing the Yankees on Friday night in Seattle. It's turned into the all-star sports weekend and I'm pumped.
Becky is the greatest wife ever and I love her very much. Even though I know she'll eventually read this.
And I've never once asked her how she's going to spend her $900.
You'll noticed that I used the words "I'm" as in I was the one who earned this money therefore it is mine. All mine. Since Becky reads the newspaper once every decade I could have easily never mentioned the tax rebates and I would have been able to hoard the money all to myself. I'm sure some wife in the Wednesday morning playgroup would have eventually spilled the beans.
Playgroup Wife: "We bought a nice new bedroom set with our tax rebate last month."
Becky: "Oh, we got our tax refund back in February, I think Scott put it in the bank."
Playgroup Wife: "This isn't a tax refund, this is the rebate that we all got in May."
Becky: "May? Why it's June. How come Scott has never mentioned this? (Thinks for a minute) He told me he borrowed those new golf clubs from the neighbor to "try them out". I guess we'll be having a little talk when he gets home tonight. (Slowly getting fired up) Whatever, I'm not waiting until tonight, where's my cell phone?"
Hence Becky knows all about the $1,800 and the potential arrival of said money. However this is when the negotiations begin.
I've been eyeing the BYU vs. Washington football game on September 6th for two years now. I always thought that we'd drive up to Richland, pick up Dad, Dave, Kim and whoever else wanted to go. Then we'd be off to Seattle to meet Spencer and his family. We'd have a little barbecue at his house Friday night. Maybe some Costco 1/3 pound burgers or some foot-long hot dogs. We'd sit and reminisce of past BYU games, past BYU road trips, past BYU bowl games, and the glory days before we all got married and had to become responsible adults. We pound some root beers and enjoy the nice cool breeze of a Seattle fall evening.
Alas, a lot has changed in the last two years. Dad heads off on a mission and our family reunion is scheduled four weeks before the game. That means two trips to Seattle in the course of a month. That's some pretty serious travel, but I'm willing to make sacrifices.
The reunion is a done deal and the whole family is coming. We're driving and it should be a pretty dang fun trip. But how do I make the trip again a month later? Does the whole family come? Do we drive? Do I really want to be in a car with and almost 4 year old and an almost 2 year old again?
*Light bulb comes on* I've got $1,800 in cold hard cash coming my way in May. Maybe I could stash some of it away and fly to Seattle and catch the game. This is all starting to make too much sense. What about the kids? What about Becky? We have ICMA two weeks later so we can't ditch them to relatives. Think, Scott. You're a smart guy. This is BYU football we're talking about here.
Scott: "Becky I've got a proposal for you."
Becky: (Rolling eyes) "What do you want to buy this time?"
Scott: "Here's the deal. We're getting $1,800 in free money. Let's split it 50/50 but not question how the other spends the money. You can buy all the crafts you want and I won't blink."
Becky: (The $900 offer doesn't even phase her) "So what are your plans with the money?"
Scott: "The rule is: You can't question the use."
Becky: "No deal. Unless I know what you're going to spend it on."
Scott: (Trying to talk real fast so Becky doesn't get all the details) "I really want to go to this game and it would be fun to spend some time with Spencer and Dave and their families and I would have to fly and I would get home as soon as I can on Sunday and I'll take Aubree with me if that helps my chances and I love you and you're the greatest wife ever and it's all free because we're commanded by the government to spend this money to stimulate the economy."
Becky: "I'll think about it."
Scott: (Smiling) Thinking to himself: "The seed is planted."
Therefore the seed is in full bloom. I've got permission to go. Becky says it's not necessary to take Aubree (I was planning on Heather taking care of her the whole time anyway :-)) and to top it off the Mariners are playing the Yankees on Friday night in Seattle. It's turned into the all-star sports weekend and I'm pumped.
Becky is the greatest wife ever and I love her very much. Even though I know she'll eventually read this.
And I've never once asked her how she's going to spend her $900.
posted by Scott's Blog at Thursday, March 27, 2008
6 Comments:
I am pumped, for both games really. Maybe we'll get rid of our kids and make a weekend of it. I'm glad you're coming, and I like your tax rebate idea. Very clever.
Scott you have quite the humorous mind, I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Thanks.
Once again, I'm just shaking my head. The things Scott can come up with to get me to let him do things. He is very sneaky. I haven't decided how to spend my money yet.
So is that how the conversation really went down? Because I loved playing it out in my head. Man, it's so good to have you blogging again!
And we're going to spend our tax rebate on one of two really fun things--food or making a couple of minivan payments.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Whoops. I deleted my own comment. Anyway, the conversation is a slight exaggeration, just like everything that is written in this blog.
I actually struggled a little bit about whether to save the money or do something worth while. But ultimately I decided that I'm tired of saving money and I just want to have some fun. So look out!
I even contemplated taking $300 each for Aubree and Sydney since technically (Breakdown per the rebate rules is $600 per adult, $300 per kid = $1,800 check) we only got that because they were living and breathing. I was going to take that $300 each and open a savings account for them so they could reap the future benefits.
Then I realized that they add very little to the family other than cuteness. In fact they cost us big time. So I ushered them aside and decided to spend the money on myself.
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