I opened my inbox today and found an email from the Glove Compartment. It was titled �Splendid�. It then proceeded to give me lots of information on cheap Viagra and Cialis. I guess this is the Glove Compartments way of telling me how disappointed it is with the lack of car sex its privy to these days.

I�ll have a good talk with it on my way home tonight, explain the whole nekkid in car at -32c thing, and that my pregnant, beached whale form isn�t overly condusive to such daring sexcapades these days; and really, no one wants to me nekkid right now � that�s just not very neighbourly. Not to mention, car sex was soooo 12th grade. If that doesn�t work, I�ll request to be removed from its mailing list. I had NO idea my Glove Compartment was a voyeur. I mean, I would expect that from say, a British car, but I�m a little shocked to discover this about my Pontiac.

On a much less pervy subject, Happy 30th International Women�s Day!! Canada�s theme for 2007 Women�s Day is �Ending Violence Against Women: Action for Real Results�. To all the ladies � I celebrate your inner goddess today!

Now to elaborate on my (albeit minute) financial woes of yesterday. I make more money then my darling spouse, and as a result I pay more when it comes to our bills and household expenses. It�s only fair. I would resent having to pay for half of stuff if my spouse made almost twice what I do � it�s not proportionate. In addition to being the primary earner, I am also the responsible one. I�m not saying I�m a cash whiz or anything � if I were my net worth wouldn�t be what it is! BUT � I make sure that my obligations are fulfilled, and that I have emergency funds in case something happened, and I try to prepare for my future. It�s not much right now, but I contribute each month to my saving, to my RRSP, and to my son�s RESP (he informed me last night he is going to be a Spaceman who is a doctor�.I�m betting that�s gonna cost me a pretty penny or two!!). My spouse can�t even keep track of his damn student loan. He LIVES in the red.

He lives on his overdraft. He lives on his credit card � both are totally maxed. He is also looking at a huge cut in pay come July 1st � he will be bringing in 50% of what he make now. I will be taking a HUGE cut in pay come July 1st. You know, that whole maternity leave thing. In Canada, you get 55% of your income, to a maximum payment of $413 per week. Guess what? My 55% is more then $413 a week�so I am losing a little more then 50% of my income. And I *have* to take some time off � you know, I gotta push a human being out of myself.

I am frantically socking every spare penny away right now � in case something happens while I am on maternity leave � the car breaks down (like last summer, cost $2500), one of my fur babies gets sick (I�ve spent $500 on Chip in the past 4 weeks alone), someone loses a tooth and needs it replaced, a window gets broke, the fridge dies. You know. *LIFE*. Plus I have tuition to pay for in Sep (I�ve gone back to University part time � I want a better job and I want to finish my damn degree).

So in the face of our upcoming financial hardship (albeit short lived � I take leave Jul 1, return to work Dec 1- which craps � in Canada the gov�t gives you a whole year of mat leave, we just cannot afford it, and it would be career suicide for me, at least in this company)? He decides he�s worried about owing taxes, since he owed a whole $160 last year.

So in his panic, he decides he better top up his RRSP contributions. Normally, that would be a sound financial decision. However, the money he dropped into his RRSP has changed his return by about $40. That money could have been used to eliminate 20% of his credit card debt, or 20% of his overdraft, each of which charges us 18.5% and 11.9% interest respectively.

He also decided to double his monthly RRSP contribution, and up his monthly student loan payment to get it paid off faster. This loan is at an interest rate of about 4%. The additional loan payment and the extra amount going in his RRSP would have cleared his debt up in 10 months. Or could have been dumped in our savings account to help relive the congestion we feel this summer/fall.

I know it�s important to save for our future, but I think it�s much more important that we get through this year first. We have a budget surplus at the end of each month right now. Come July, our income/expenses leave us with a deficit of -$322 per month. Let�s focus on THAT, and then worry about what we�ll do with ourselves 35 years from now.

I spoke with him when I started my RRSP, and Babybear�s RESP. Let him know what the payment would be, when it would be, and ensured it conflicted with nothing. I talk to him before making any purchases � in case he knows of somewhere better it needs to go. I don�t have to do this. I have expendable cash after paying all the bills, but it�s the principle. You discuss considerable financial decisions with your spouse.

His financial contribution is also based on a budget. No matter what, he pays X number of dollars each month, and I dole it out to the bills from there. When the budget is based on $120 per month for hydro, and this month�s bill comes in with at a whopping $236�guess who makes up that extra $116?? And that�s FINE, because I do have the cash to do it. I am not trying to bitch about paying more, this is a partnership, not a who pays what. But when I assume those extra costs, and I work my ass off to save money to make up for the money we�re short this summer, plus money for emergencies, it pisses me off to watch him make a selfish and uninformed decision to save himself from paying $160 in taxes without even mentioning it to me, when that money could really make a difference between have and have-not this summer. And it pisses me off that he decides to up his 4% loan payment, instead of dealing the 11.9% and 18.5% debts he lives off of.

The best part?? I found out he had made these financial moves because I had paid for something for him which is entirely his � it�s debt he incurred, it�s not mine, and he was to give me that cash for it on Tuesday. I asked for it yesterday, as I was doing some banking, and I hate paying transaction fees (such a waste of my hard earned money and the time it took me to earn said money) and do as much in one transaction as possible. �I don�t have much cash right now,� he tells me. I ask what happened, and he informs me he dumped all available funds into his RRSP, once again, leaving me holding the purse strings. Good thing I didn�t *need* that money for something, like a car payment, or a mortgage payment or something.

Sheesh.

Again, not as big a deal as other financial woes, but one that pisses me off none the less. I am struggling my way back to financial freedom after being bankrupt and poor. When I first had Babybear, I had nothing, and I had no where to live. I have worked really hard for what I have now, and it frustrates me to watch someone else be so fucking careless with it.

/rant.

Alright, I have to go � I *must* have chicken wings *now*. Possum says so!

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