Reading your post again, I think maybe you didn’t want help finding a different table but maybe wanted input instead on if you should split the cost? Is that right? IMO, no. If Boyfriend is set on the IKEA table, he can wait a few more months to save the extra $$. Who knows, something else might pop up in the meantime!
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Ah yeah, Tris if that’s what you meant I’d also say no. If he has such a specific vision for the table it’s his project to save up for IMO.
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Agree. There ARE ugly and cheap, or less durable and cheap, options. If those aren’t acceptable to him then it’s not so much a “there is NO alternative here” but a “these aren’t acceptable”. Which is fine, but that just means it’s time to save 
Unless it also becomes that important to you, I guess.
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We had a pretty good money saving weekend, which is good because we’ve spent a lot of money on our new potential hobby (camping) but we’re doing that in place of anniversary gifts (14 years in September!) and going on a weekend camping trip instead, so hopefully it will even out.
I cooked all of our food at home and made some fun smoothies and seltzer drinks. We watched Alone on history channel.com and watched a Thai horror movie on Netflix. We also learned a new card game called Continental Rummy and it was really fun! If you like rummy games I highly recommend it. I love cards. Oh I also made a bunch of spicy Shichimi Togarashi pickles to go as a side for pad thai later in the week.
Also made some really good tacos. I was trying to replicate Taco Bell and I think I nailed it tbh.
Other than that we did grocery pickup instead of delivery, which is less expensive but not the least expensive. I decided to try out Sprouts because Aldi produce has been declining in quality. I get my meat from ButcherBox so weekly shopping is pretty much just snacks, produce, and pantry odds and ends (though I order lots of pantry staples online now too). Does anyone have a cheap source for Avocado Oil and also for ground coffee? I really like Lavazza so anything similar to that would be awesome.
So far I’m really happy with the quality of Sprouts. It’s a lot more expensive than our local produce shop but it has the added benefit of selling other things. Our produce store is just produce so it creates an extra errand; Sprouts is a one stop shop. It kind of reminds me of a slightly lower end Whole Foods? Which I kind of enjoy now that I have all these food sensitivities because they carry lots of wacky items for my Delicate Rich Person Disposition.
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We spent ALL THE MONEY this weekend in my attempts to make Husband’s Birthday a really good one. Some savings by buying Dave and Buster’s gift cards on Amazon for 20% off and paying for our movie tickets with a old gift card I found while cleaning up the oddities corner.
And now I’m struggling with my WFH set-up and wanting to purchase everything to fix it. I’m looking for a new desk chair, keyboard, table clamp monitor stand, and maybe a new monitor instead of using my old tv. Any suggestions to keep me from dropping some $500 on this stuff?
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I would consider Amazon before Walmart, honestly. I have a lot of guilt about both though.
Boyfriend is feeling extremely overwhelmed with tasks so this was me trying to take something off of his plate since he really really wants a table but we can’t seem to find the time to go shop for one. Honestly he really needs some time off of work just to catch up on life but he is almost out of PTO and feels like he should save a couple days in case of an evacuation. (I agree, otherwise he will have to take the time unpaid, and he already has to blow a PTO day on his colonoscopy which he is deeply salty about.)
Not exactly… well, sort of. Me framing this as a Rich Life problem was more “We need this thing, have found one that is exactly what we need, it is more than we thought it would be, is it OK to throw money at the problem or should we be frugal and keep shopping? Even though that is annoying and stressing us out and things we are finding that are in our budget are unattractive or flimsy or would need a lot of work to not clash violently with the room?” I feel like if we bought it then we’d be buying time with money, basically.
He has the money in savings. And he is contributing to our house fund at the rate we agreed on. The question is more, should he/we spend his savings on this. He keeps talking about how badly he wants a table and this is the first one we’ve found that we both like, is the right size, and would be good for having people over to game which is the entire point of getting one in the first place. He just doesn’t think a table should cost that much, so asked me if I’d be willing to split the cost because then his share fits his mental image of what it should cost. Is that SHOULD cost even realistic in these inflationary times? I don’t know.
I personally am tired of having shitty flimsy furniture that falls apart or doesn’t match. But that is my issue.
ETA: I don’t really want to pay for half of this because I’m not happy with my savings rate and would also like to use that money toward fixing my bad hair that hasn’t been touched professionally in 6 months - but again, that is my issue.
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It sounds like you want to throw money at it and are looking for permission to do so? If that’s the case I say go for it and just buy the table. I definitely don’t go cheap on furniture anymore and tbh I have never regretted buying what I actually want. I had used mash-mash furniture for years and I know that doesn’t bother some people at all but it really bothered me. I love my fancy furniture that is all exactly my style.
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Honestly that price is right for what you are getting. He might need to either adjust his expecting or budget.
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Agreed. Any cheaper and you’ll be looking at something entirely different that would either need replacing sooner or not meet your needs.
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See and I love my ugly table. My friends and relatives have track records for destruction. And toddlers… toddler. I love having something I didn’t have to mentally LOSE IT when my mom slid a gravel covered basket across the top and scraped the shit out of it. It makes me a much better host to have some pieces that Do Not Matter.
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Oh yeah, if I had kids I would feel the same!
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Yeah…“I think a table should cost X so you should pay the rest” isn’t realistic. If it’s something you both want and want to split that’s obviously your call, but it sounds like maybe you have other uses for your money if this is something he agreed to pay for?
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I am getting this sense too.
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It’s honestly way more the adult guests than the child.
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It is SHOCKING the amount of people who will see a coaster on a table and then NOT USE IT. Like set the drink down right next to it lmao. The mind boggles!!
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Things I have seen my mother do on other peoples tables, an incomplete list. Cut on the table with a knife without a cutting board. Cutting cheese slices. Let’s see what else. Drinks without coasters. Sitting down coolers that are covered with dirt or gravel in there for scraping it. Many many things along those lines.
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I nearly screamed
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She once got mad at me because I asked her to use a plate with her cheese on the antique travel trunk that I used as a coffee table. (used before kid). Mind you, she is the one that gave me the antique travel trunk and told me to treat it well. The mind truly boggles.
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As an aside I feel like I have to defend my mom a little bit here. We actually had an incredibly nice house with incredibly nice stuff growing up. Chemo really did destroy her brain, and I think she reacts super defensively when she gets caught out doing things that are illogical and weird.
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as a child I played an awful lot with protractors and compasses.
My parents didn’t refinish the table for another 20 years.
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