Lazy Man and Money

Solving the “What do to I get my Husband/Wife for Christmas?” Problem

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It’s that time of year again. Time to engage in hanging stockings and mistletoe. Time for dreams of Kris Kringle and Super Bowls. Wait, something is off there. I’ve given up on my typical holiday-neutral stance and added a little football to the mix. It’s the time of year where things get all mixed up anyway, so I figure, let’s go with it. I get a lot of questions this time of year, but there’s one question that I get more than the others… “I need to buy a gift for the husband/wife… and I can’t come up empty handed?” What do you suggest?

I got one of these questions on Friday, my second of the season. I am always quick to suggest that you can never go wrong with hair clips and watch chains, especially because I often get asked by both spouses. When I get serious, I can occasionally be helpful, but it is always hit or miss.

It occurred to me that my wife and I typically don’t have this problem. We accidentally developed a pretty good system. Throughout the year when we want something we put it on our Amazon Wishlist. (Yes, I know you’d think this is Jeff Bezos’ blog lately, but it seems appropriate during the holidays.) Since Amazon allows you to put little notes on your list, we leave little hints like, “I don’t need this exact hair brush” or “You can get this cheaper at Target” (I’m sure Amazon loves that note). The items for me range from things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 comic books graphic novels (note that I can be all adulty about it) to the aforementioned hair brush (Jacoby chews through mine a couple times a year). When Christmas rolls around we both look to the list. On Friday, when thinking about how to answer the hubby/wifey question, I realized that this is a double win for us. It not only solves the Christmas problem, but it limits our spending throughout the rest of the year.

One thing you don’t want to give your spouse… a $60,000 debt. You know how I feel about those. Oh and add bungee cords to the list of things not to get. Even if your wife loves to camp and the bungee cords are very close to free, so it could be considered an “extra” thing to open, don’t do it… seriously.

Mortgage and Divorce: I’m Unhappy To Be Stuck With You

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brokenhome.jpgThe San Francisco Gate writes that more and more divorced couples are forced to live together while trying to sell their home. People can’t sell their homes, leading to a real-life version of the Jennifer Anison/Vince Vaughn movie, The Break-Up.

It’s not just that there are too many sellers and few buyers, it’s that people have bought more home than they could afford. As housing values dropped, they have found that they owe the bank more than the home is worth. In order to leave they are going to have to dip into their savings to pay the bank the difference.

A number of other sticky situations can occur. The articles asks, what happens if “one person wants to sell at all cost and the other wants to hold the house until the real estate market rebounds?” It’s put divorce judges in a pickle – they can’t order the sale of the home like they might have in the past.

Articles like these remind me how it is the possessions that own you. While a home is one of the better possessions you can buy, it’s odd that it can turn into a jail. It’s another reason why having money isn’t always about the money, but about the freedom of choice is allows.