Children…….and their effect on budgets….sigh!
I have written earlier that we have cancelled our cable TV subscription as part of our austerity measures. As expected there were some wails of objection from the younger three children, but it died off after a while.
After all, they had the trusty computer and the endless list of websites they could surf and otherwise waste their time.
Then the computer went down!
This machine was bought a long time ago. It has been repaired and upgraded a number of times. The latest repair was having its power source replaced. In a recent thunderstorm, the computer went down again, and this time, I refused to send it in for repairs.
Each time, I came home from work; I would be met with sullen looks from the three younger kids. I used to joke that our neighbours would think that I was mistreating them.
They used all the tricks up their sleeves to work on their mother who also managed to fend them off.
Sigh…..I finally gave in. Though I had read Brooke’s post on “no video games till her son got straight “A’s”, and thought that was the right way to go, I just succumbed.
Last night, my wife went with my son and youngest daughter and brought home a fancy desktop. It has a wireless keyboard, a 17” LCD screen, a sleek looking black CPU and fancy looking speakers.
The children are ecstatic. They have promised their mother that they would use the machine wisely etc., but I have my doubts on this. I am sure there will be a fair amount of video games and such.
My budget had no provison for this purchase. I just have to somehow sort this out. Sigh…..children. And what parents have to do to keep them happy.
