I escaped work around 1:00 today - woohoo.

Got all I had wanted to get done. It will be crazed when I return, but I enjoy having a job I can forget while I am away. Of course I already had one call but that's pretty rare. Guess figured I was game since I took off early. LOL.

I told BM's preschool teacher I may pick him up early (thinking if I left at 3 or something because it is pretty out of the way from home). But in the end I got out early and I also made last minute playdate plans - long overdue - so will pick him up tonight and take him to McDs afterwards. Less for him as he sees his friend twice a week at preschool, but I have only had lunch with my friend I think once all year and I figured though time was tight to just bite the bullet. I invited her like Monday and forgot and she just got back to me - figures. But glad she could make it. What the heck. So I was driving home when Ms. preschool called and I was a little worried. Granted, figured she wondered if I'd be early, but it always worries you to get a call at an off time - I figured all the kids would be napping by then. Well she just called to pretty much beg me not to pick him up early - LOL. Told her not to worry. They were camping out since the play room is under construction - adding a second loft - and she thought BM would be disappointed if I showed up early. Well a free day and she insists on keeping him - sure. Be my guest.

So I moved around my schedule. Going to the bank and the store before I pick him up (Got my Chase rebate - FAST!!!!). & then taking him to McDs. Figured I would catch up on my writing in the meantime. Oh yeah and I have an empty enough tank I promised BM we could go through the carwash - you know free/discounted when you buy the gas - so figure I'd fill up the car and clean it, and park it in the garage so it is all shiny and ready to go when we get back from vacation.

Dh also made a Goodwill and another book store run today. Woohoo - less clutter. I posted the recliner and a bag of plastic hangers on freecycle. We'll see.

Progress...

But mostly I am stoked because look at me - I'm on vacation!!!! Woohoo. I'll probably be 10 times more excited when I catch up around the house though. Trying to space things out so it is not too crazed. But who am I kidding. Sunday will be CRAZED. Monday we'll hope in the car and just drive away from life for a few days though - I couldn't be more excited. It is nice to have a license to just get the hell away for a bit - LOL.

I'd probably be picking up or something but LM Will be napping until I leave so I am resigned to quiet activities for now. Which is fine. Figure I could whip out my articles and get those off my plate.

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Anyway, enough about me.

I was watching Suze last weekend and someone called on the "Can I Afford It?" segment about how they had been waiting SOOOOO LONG... for a sound system or something. & when she asked how long, they said, "6 months." I just was like, what, are you frigging kidding me? Oh yeah, 6 months.

Anyway, I wrote an article for pfadvice pretty recently about why it pays to have patience when shopping. Patience means being able to save up the cash, to buy quality, to get a better deal, and to ensure you REALLY want it. Anyway, dh and I will generally wait YEARS for things. So the whole think kind of struck me as odd. I was just thinking, yeesh, get a grip. 6 months is not a long time.

I was also listening to Dave Ramsey since I get his show on around noon I started listening just this week. The guy kind of bugs me. I think he is great for getting out of debt, but overall his anti-debt stance at any cost kind of bugs me. On the other hand if debt is an addiction, for many maybe that is the way it has to be. But as far as making financial sense, the debt is ALWAYS bad scenario doesn't jive with me, and I am about as anti-debt as they come overall. But anyway, some of his advice was pretty horrid if you ask me. Like paying debt instead of funding a SEP IRA that would save something like $10k in taxes. Um, well you don't get the SEP AND you can't pay the debt if you just fork that money to the government instead, might as well do the SEP. So stuff like that annoyed me. But yesterday he was going on and on about the mentality of the rich. & it was much the same thing. Have patience now so you can have more later. Whatever he was going on and on about I was thinking, amen. Of course, if that's all it takes to be rich, I guess. To me it feels like that's what it takes to survive. Hehe. I should be REALLY rich by now then. Well we don't do half bad, but I am always worried about the worst, and we certainly can't face any hardship that comes our way. I don't really expect to be a zillionaire. He makes it sound a little too easy I guess.

So I don't know. If I have to wait for a year or 2 or 3 for a purchase and I still want it, then great. Then I must REALLY want it. But 6 months, eh. Let me tell you, I REALLY want to buy a convertible, but until the cash is in the bank and retirement all funded, etc., etc. I can wait. The world won't end. It might take a decade, but I can live with that.

I also think dh and I are pretty darn good at figuring out much lesser things to enjoy in the interim as we wait for bigger purchases. It's a balance. I really don't see the point of complete deprivation either. But you know if we bought all the big things we wanted when we first wanted them there wouldn't be much to enjoy in life. Allowing a certain big luxury once every few years - well that is pretty sweet.

So I guess my point is part of financial freedom is when you can find the patience. & when you realize 6 months is NOT a long time to wait for something.

& I am curious what most people consider a long time to wait for a purchase?

To me I would honestly say a decade. A year or 2 to wait for something is pretty standard around here. Maybe 5 years is starting to get long. I think I learned that one from my parents though. Dh got a little more spoiled and he has a lot more problems with the waiting thing. I mean he did wait a good decade for his beloved HDTV, but then again sometimes he just can not wait for things. & you know, poor baby, couldn't get the $10k HDTV in 1997 so he just got a movie theatre room in 2001 instead. LOL. But it was a hell of a lot cheaper and tided him over another 5 years for his HDTV, all the same. We both have been wanting a dual-tuner TIVO for quite a while but it's not in the budget, that one may just wait a decade too. Oh well. That's how we flow. I went without a laptop about 4 years when I quit my last job. I missed it from day 1. But 4 years later I got one again. Dh and I never had cable until we got married at 24. I always cringe at the anti-cable crowd. Sure, I certainly did not have cable as a poor college student, but once we made six figures we figured we could afford a little cable. If I cut off the cable dh would refuse to stay home with the kids now - LOL. But I figured we waited so long for it, what difference does it make now. Dammit I waited a long time for it! LOL. I LOVE me my gardener but I did not break down and hire one until I got a ginormous raise, and after hating yard work with a passion for about 4 years. Just a few examples of waiting...