My husband is a great being-a computer fanatic, a stickler for detail yet an artist at heart! He loves the good things of life like beaches and music but has a desire for the glamorous and the luxurious. Sprawling homes and beautiful interiors are his dreams; making ends meet, his nightmare!
He spends like a king, that it leaves us paupers is hardly a deterrent. He has great value as a husband because he doesn't question where money disappears. Perhaps because it disappears faster with him, while he is still figuring out how. So it wasn't surprising when he came home one day to tell me that our bank balance had dwindled into next to nothing.
My parents always lived more comfortably than most of their peers because they in those days were amongst the lucky minority where both husband and wife earned. I inherited the trait of buying brand names and finding haggling for lower prices an unnecessary waste of my time but I always saved for tomorrow, tomorrow which for me on the one hand held the potential for greener pastures, a chance to see the world and on the other also signified uncertainty and I saved for both.
So the news of the financial crisis made me nervous and anxious all at the same time but making my lion hearted, king minded (yet adorable soul)husband understand the need or necessity to save, in this day of exorbitant taxes and prices was beyond me.
After two to three days of searching for insurance receipts, account booklets and stumbling upon unearthed cash amounts in the process and the crisis did not seem like a crisis anymore.
Suddenly I felt great relief that I didn't have a miser for a husband, somebody who just existed. So what if hubby dear enjoyed life and didn't just think ahead of the times...be it the future of multimedia or utility of cyberspace (while I find it all Greek and Latin) he also acquired things at great speed in anticipation of his needs five years into the future!!
And so what if we don't have much today, I am sure we shall have enough tomorrow (???), will we????
POSTSCRIPT- 27th Dec2025
In essence both of us haven't changed much and neither has our relationship. However my frustration that Ajay was not saving for future evaporated the day I told him I was pregnant! He was like a man possessed, writing out 10 and 20 year plans to ensure he was able to provide for his child. His preoccupation with financial planning at the time when I was struggling with the physical discomfort of being pregnant was not something I pretended to understand. His explanation was - There should be enough money even if the child wanted to go to NASA!
Sigh! Ajay is the larger than life persona, I shouldn't have been perplexed at his reference to outer space!
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