To spend our money on a new bicycle

[BJunction]

Hello all,

I wanted to get the "female" perspective on this...

My wife is due in a few months and we're putting all my recent bonus money and savings towards the required purchases. The issue is there is a lovely bike that I've been eyeing up to compliment my existing stable of bikes. The bike cost is about 40%-50% of the money we have but I'm sure we can get by on what's left. There's easily enough for a good cot and the rest of the stuff we'll need.

I've even made a spreadsheet covering the spend so it's clear we can do it but the wife is insistent that we spend all the money on the new born... who won't even remember this stage of his life.

am I being unreasonable for wanting this great bike whilst making sure there's enough left to cover the cost of the incoming baby?

at least Goofy gets it

Does it include a baby seat or trailer ? Midlife crisis perhaps !

I should really stop reading/posting on AIBU section.

YABU and selfish.

Bjunction I suggest you pay for your wife to have a babymoon or spa weekend with her friends (as you can obvs afford it). Also a post baby haircut and some loads of new clothes. That would probably go down better than a spreadsheet, as you seem hellbent on getting this bike.

So this spreadsheet.... I take it once the baby stuff is sorted there is xxx amount left over... I hope your wife enjoys spending her half of the xxx just as you will when you are left with enough to buy a second hand rusty tin bike...

You should probably read the thread about the husband buying a new PS3.

What massive, equivalent treat does your wife get, out of your joint, family income?

Oh, the baby is her treat, right? Ha, ha, ha.

I'm a little disappointed with the reaction so far.

It's important that I keep fit and am able to retain some level of creature comforts. The baby will get a cot and whetever else and my wife is getting a tablet PC for her birthday so it's all good.

Ha ha ha ha. Aha ha ha ha. Good luck with that op.

You are seriously unbelievable! I hope your wife pops on and lets us know if she went for serious maiming, murder or divorce.

The bit you have plainly missed is that your actions show that you think the things you want are more important than what she may want or need! Do you really think there aren't things your wife would want but never ask for because it would be financially unwise? Or because that money had been earmarked for your child. And yes - a baby doesn't have to cost a lot, but since that money was for the baby perhaps your DW wanted to buy something nice with it for the baby and now has to change those plans and go for the cheap option.

You are a selfish man-child!

Hey,I get it as a cyclist, but people here are giving you the benefit of their experience of also being a parent.

Out of my stable (Specialized Epic full susser, custom frame custom build audax bike, x-cross bike, hard tail), the bike that gets the most use is the ex-hire Dawes hardtail. It's great for babyseats and hauling a tag-along. i'm not going to be doing 100 mile sportiness for while, but i've made my peace with that. I still ride, just differently. Financial insecurity make me v nervous, and if I had £9K or so to spare, I'd want to put it aside as a cushion against some of what life and babies can throw at you.

Actually, I don't get it as a cyclist. £8.5K won't make you a better rider. Are you a Cat 1 rider by any chance? if you really need such a spangly bike, you should have a word with your sponsor . Any chance you could nip over to Italy and make up two or three minutes?

Sportives,not sportiness!

So you're essentially giving yourself a second birthday.. so where is your wife's second birthday?

You can keep fit by jogging. Its free.

If it's all good, your wife will have agreed it is good and you wouldn't need to ask us. So it isn't is it? Not in your life, just in your head.

BJunction

I'm on your side. I would be fine with this (I'm a mum and a wife). You are making sure the baby gets the stuff he/she needs first afterall.

But....would it not be worth waiting a bit? I say this because some babies are really easy, just sleep and feed, but...some struggle and cry a lot and require a lot of attention. You don't know yet whether you will still have loads of time to go out on a bike, or not.

Ermm.. people? Wind-up?

Does a tablet PC cost £8k? Because mine was less than 10% of that.

And this is your wife's birthday present?

So you get an £8k present "just because" and she gets a £500 present for her birthday. Doesn't sound that good from her perspective really.

Re: keeping fit. My dh has a bike worth about £200 and no gym membership because he doesn't see the point. He also has a resting pulse of about 50 and the lung capacity of a 19 year old soldier (whatever that means?!) Admittedly he is an ex junior international at a sport so started from a high standard but if you need £8k worth of bi,e to keep fit then you are doing it wrong!

Pffffft. What Flouncy said.

Wind up and not even a good one. You sound like a massive spanner.

Surely you need to discuss spending priorities with your wife not with mumsnet!

Marking my place in case we get a particularly nice deletion message from HQ

This can't be real. How can someone this clueless be making so much money?

Either your wife is quitting work to stay home, in which case that money will help substitute for her salary.

Or she is going back to work, in which case your shiny new bike will pay for a year's worth of childcare.

Get it?

I always think many, many of the posters on here need to chill out.

1. They can afford it.
2. Bjunction likes cycling.
3. So, he's NBU.

Why must we give up our lives and hobbies when our kids are born?!? It's really not necessary!

Yes, thank you aretheyanyleft!

Ok, before this disappears, can I really be the first to observe that this thread brings a whole new dimension to the phrase 'all the gear, no idea'! Points please!