A few days ago my wife told me she had seen the year-end Amex summary!
Ruh-Oh!!
She commented immediately on the charges to Wine Connection and Grapes and the “absurd” number that they totaled to. She then told me that I out spent her by a ratio of something like 10 to 1. I was going to argue, but decided it might be a losing battle … plus, she didn’t realize that not all wine shops show up in the same category and looking closer might further doom me!
Then she told me what really, really pissed her off.
It was the “rent” we are paying for my wine. She said that for the price of the wine storage we could have rented a great place for the winter or summer.
(Time to fight back…)
I told her that the answer was we need to spend 5X what we spent last year on wine storage to build a cellar so that we could save money in the long run…
Strike One!!
I told her that she should be happy that I was spending money on an apartment for my wine instead of on an apartment for a mistress …
Strike Two!!
I told her that I wasn’t aware that it was so much money…
She asked how many bottles I had … pop fly…oh oh … into foul territory… Whew.
She repeated the question regarding my bottle count…
Full count, pressures on…
I responded, honey, why don’t we get you a pair of Manolos …
Whew, a crappy single on a bunt, but I survived for now at least
Literally the last thing I did before reading your post was write a post about how I “spend up” on wine due to storage costs. I hate this problem, and the logistics hassles of offsite storage.
I usually share funny stories like this with my wife (btw I was laughing my arss off). This one I had to hold back, I didn’t want her to get curious too.
I’m happy that I have no one to account to as I can purchase freely without scrutiny…Actually based on CellarTracker statistics, that’s probably not a good thing.
One of the keys to a long, successful marriage: Separate checking and credit card accounts. For 35 years, I haven’t looked at hers and she hasn’t looked at mine. Trust me, there are some things that both spouses don’t need to know.
She encourages me to buy wine. She knows I don’t go apeshit in the per bottle price category. In fact, there was one offer from Selection Massale. I told her I was passing because of the cost. She said I should break out of my comfort zone once in a while, that it’s a healthy thing.
When I was in the market for a new (used) car, she pushed me in getting something nicer than what I was considering. She said I’ve worked hard all my life and deserve it. So I did and it made her (and me!) happy.
Do I know how lucky I am to have a woman like that in my life? You bet I do!
My spending on wine has decreased in line with increases in my spending on cycling. The more I ride and train, the less I drink. The more I lust after a new bike, the less I want to spend on wine.
Your wife must be looming over your shoulder as your posting ; )
Kidding aside, my wife goes up and down with the wine buying. We are in napa as we speak and she hasn’t really said boo to anything we have bought. At home, once and awhile she says something, but not too often.