DH is "on the road" sales. He puts on more than 20,000 mi a year. He is using the old family car that my budget paid for and has no savings in his business to purchase the next car. Here is the queer part. ALL of his gas receipts show that he pays with $10 or $20 cash and takes $10 to $15 in change, buying gas $5 to $10 at a time all over the state! When I ask him about this, he says he only puts in $5 at a time because he has the trunk weighted down with so much weight that he doesn't want to put more than a couple gallons in at a time to SAVE GAS because it would make the car heavier to tow! And he doesn't trust himself with a credit card. It makes no sense to me. His whole concept of budget, profit, cash, credit savings and his over-positive ideas about value and profit and time makes my brain spin more than an ADD brain does. $5 cash each time for gas to save money - what is he doing?
Dear Click and Clack
Submitted by jennalemon on 05/29/2012.
Wow..I have no clue. I
Submitted by SherriW13 on
Wow..I have no clue. I almost chuckled when I read this because it seems like something a little 90 year old man might do to be frugal. I always thought that nickel and diming gas to death cost more...that it was more efficient (get better mileage) to just fill up. If you truly don't want to carry the responsibility, then I wouldn't carry the worry or bother with trying to figure it out either.
Jennalemon, I agree with you
Submitted by st on
Jennalemon, I agree with you that this behavior makes no sense especially the comment about not wanting to use a credit card!! He is saying he would rather use the money on gas AND spend the extra amount of cash but thinks a credit card purchase for the actual gas price would be worse? It would be one thing to do this behavior of getting only a little bit of gas at a time and then take NO cash out, but when he is taking out cash each time that, to me, raises a red flag. Could it possibly be that he is taking cash out that many times so he can spend it on things you would not know about? Since it sounds like you have control of your personal finances maybe he thinks this is the only way to get access to money and spend it without being tracked. Just a thought.
Or maybe he is taking out
Submitted by SherriW13 on
Or maybe he is taking out $20 and only wanting to use $10 for 'necessary' stuff so he can blow the other $10? I know my husband LOVES to have cash to blow and if I gave him cash for gas most likely only 1/2 of it would make it in his tank, if that. Maybe buying junk food or something he doesn't want you to know about with the rest? But, in the end he's not seeing this as a big deal because he's doing it in such small increments?? (i.e. if he took out $60 and only used $30 for gas, then he would have to answer for $30 vs. $10 or $15?)
Soooo sad
Submitted by NJTWINMOM on
This is mine too. before gas went up so ridiculously high, I gave him his weekly allowance and he used the credit card for gas. That way he would be accountable. Now, at least here in NJ gas can vary from 10-15 cents difference if you pay cash, so we are back to that. I wonder too now , when I hand him $60 to fill up, how much goes in the tank and how much is for "play". I am rarely "allowed" in his vehicle, but on the rare chance I need to be due to necessity, he ALWAYS needs to have warning to tidy up ahead of time. I do see Wendys wrappers all over and lottery tickets...waaay too many scratch off lottery tickets :(
It really was on Car Talk!
Submitted by Haps on
Jenna, did you know this question was on Car Talk? They said it really doesn't make a difference. If your hubby's a fan, maybe you can let him know. ;)
...and this is why I love these boards. As the "non", I've found myself hocked off by the behavior of the ADHD guy in my life. Reading our posts, though, it really helps me to take a step back and say "Well, it's odd, sure, but it's not deadly." Not to try to take away anyone's frustration or minimize them by any means. Helps me to take a perspective on things on my end, and I really appreciate everyone's sharing.
...I couldn't even make it to the closest town on $5 worth of gas! (there, i said it!)
Car Talk FYI
Submitted by jennalemon on
Yes, this question WAS on Car Talk! I checked it out. They said, a gallon of gas weighs only about 6.5lbs. For a 15 gallon tank that is only about 100 lbs. The extra weight of a full tank of gas is so negligible that it can't be measured in mpg. Like adding a child in the passenger seat. I think of how often he must drive off the highway to the gas station and use his work time pumping gas to keep adding $5 of gas! There must be a reasoning in his mind that this makes sense to him. My anger comes in when I think of the decades that I have rushed to make my work time efficient using a Franklin Planner to schedule things and hurry to them to keep my job to pay the bills and be a parent.
Do they do "logic"?
Submitted by Haps on
I'm baffled here. I've rewritten this reply so many times since I don't want to be offensive but yet seek a clear understanding of how this logic can be overlooked by some folks.
Executive function, logic, etc., can all be linked to ADHD. This situation/example seems extreme, though, no?
Oye... the more we talk, the more questions that surface!