Since it is that time of year for State of the Union addresses, I am pleased to report that the fiscal state of the Dr. and Mrs. Geek union is looking decidedly brighter this year. Though I have not yet loaded up Turbo Tax, I have some hope that we will not end up owing the government income tax money this year. I also got a raise during the last year, and we finally paid off our pre-wedding credit card debt. We also made a pretty substantial dent in our remaining honeymoon debts... in spite of spending some money in the last few months on travel to the Land Of My Birth for the holidays and gifts for the relatives.
Some fiscal austerity measures have been in place since Mrs. Geek and I were married. There were times when I felt like I personally was simply spending money on only two things: bills and necessities (like food.) This is not to say that there wasn't money in the household budget for some discretionary spending; there was -- I've written far too much about my wine and whisky drinking habits plus some electronics purchases to think otherwise. It was always "watch every penny" kind of spending though... which I suppose is the best kind.
Now that see that we have some money in the bank, I'm now tempted to think about other purchases... of a more frivolous nature. For example, I've been eyeing and immersion-type electric deep fryer for some time now. Mrs. Geek loves a good french fry, and I'm having a yen for good fish and chips (and maybe hushpuppies too!) I haven't gotten great results either using a large dutch oven on top of the stove... or the $15 deep fryer I got at Tarjhay. It would be nice to have a bright, shiny new toy that could keep cooking oil at a nearly constant temperature.
Of course, the prudent thing to do with the money is save and invest. This year may not be without its own fiscal uncertainties... plus there is some saving for retirement that Mrs. Geek and I need to catch up on. The adult thing to do is save for the rainy day. As Mrs. Geek sometimes notes, it is not always fun being an adult.
said drgeek
on 2006-01-24 at 9:07 p.m.
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