No such thing as FREE lunch...

I know I always talk about my dad. But thats because he is a big influence in my life. He inspires me and pisses me off at the same time. On this labor day I check in because my dad has recently been annoying enough to inspire a blog.

My dad was born in the 50s. Most people of that era were financially responsible for lots of reasons, mainly because they were products of great depression parents, and probably because financial ir-responsibility fertilized by unfair marketing tactics by credit card companies and loan companies did not yet exist as prevelantly in his time as they do now. Anyhow my father is financialy responsible. So responsible in fact, that his children view him as frugal.

And while I defend my father for being frugal for his justified reasons reasons like having a family and having money set aside for emergencies, I cannot defend him and I will not stand and listen as he makes comments about people spending money on things like dinner or haircuts. Yes.. haircuts. And movie rentals. And donuts.

To illustrate the situation... My sister asked my dad if he got a haircut, a simple question for most people. My dad retorts back, "It was free, I don't have money like you." I was close by at the dinner table and didn't say anything even though anger built inside my face. I was turning red. My sister didn't even respond. Nobody does anymore. We used to try to convince him that spending money here and there would not send us to hell, but my father being the way he is just doesn't want to hear what we have to say.

At the dinner table, I had chinese food in front of me. Chinese food that my mother bought so that we could eat dinner. That dinner cost money. My dad had some earlier before I sat down to eat. He didn't ask where it came from or who bought it or how much it was. He never goes to the store to buy food, thats my mothers job in his eyes. We never say anything when my father buys something like a truck that stays parked in a lot, or a rental property that sits in the Philippines useless to us, or when he buys electronics he has no idea how to use like a dvd recorder. My dad buys things. That's my point. And sometimes I want to stand up and say to him when he says stuff like "i'm not rich", you have a ton of money to waste on your stuff and I have money to waste on mine.

My point is... relax when people spend their OWN money. Or at least keep the comments when its called for. Don't just bust out with some comment that you've been holding in at an inappropriate time like when someone asks you if you got a haircut. There is no such thing is free. So he didn't get a free haircut. Because it cost me thirty bucks or so to buy those clippers way back whenever I bought them... and my brother had to drive 30 minutes over to our house which costs gas and my brother took time out of his day to cut his hair and listen to his grumbling. So... while the haircut was free in fact for my dad, it costs his kids a whole bunch just so he got his haircut today. It cost me my feelings and now I write this blog.

Nothing is going to change my dad's frugality. And me and my siblings are going to continue to spend money on normal things, things we want to spend money on, the American way. Checking in with my readers to tell them my situation is really the only thing I can do....