«Honey, I just deposited another penny into the savings account,» said John, as pleased as punch, to his wife Natalie when he came home from work on payday. John, our fridge is almost empty. Natalie shot her husband a glare full of anger.
«Maybe next time you can set aside some money, but for now, give me some so I can at least go to the store?» No way, you can’t withdraw from there or we’ll lose the interest, her husband immediately objected. Lately, John had been saving more and more. From the very beginning of their marriage with Natalie, he believed that one should be thrifty and not spend money on unnecessary things.
She rarely received gifts from him, but her parents had instilled in her since childhood that a man should be sensible in financial matters and not waste money frivolously. This seemed right to her, so she decided to marry John, convinced that this was how it should be. But as the years passed, John’s thriftiness reached extremes.
This became especially noticeable when their daughter grew up. Questions about new toys or clothes John always resolved the same way—with refusal. He thought such things weren’t worth the money and shouldn’t be given importance at all.
But Paula was growing, and when it came time for the ninth-grade graduation, John suddenly forbade Natalie and their daughter from buying a proper dress. «Why spend money on some rag she’ll wear only once?» he fumed at dinner. «We can find something simpler. Like second-hand. And anyway, school graduation isn’t an occasion for extravagance.»
At that moment, their daughter was silent, but tears welled up in her eyes. After all, she had to study with these people for another two years. Seeing this, Natalie decided to intervene.
«John, it’s graduation. The girl wants to look beautiful, like all her friends. Can’t we at least not skimp on this?» «I said it’s an unnecessary expense. We’ll find her a dress twice as cheap, and no one will notice the difference. And anyway, we bought her a dress in sixth grade. What’s wrong with that one?»
«Well, we’ll have to alter it somehow. The girl has grown. We’d better save the money for something useful,» insisted the agitated John. Natalie sighed heavily. She was already used to his strict saving.
But now it concerned their daughter, and she couldn’t stay silent anymore. When John left the room, Natalie secretly took money from her own stash, which she had saved for her own needs, and gave it to her daughter. «Go buy yourself a beautiful dress,» she whispered. «Just don’t tell Dad. And I’ll manage without new winter boots this year.»
The girl ran to her friends, and together they chose a dress that she really liked. Graduation day arrived. Instead of the family car, as always, they took the bus.
Another silly saving by John. But when they approached the school, John saw the luxurious expensive dress on his daughter. He immediately flared up.
«What’s that on you?» he asked sharply. «I bought it for her,» Natalie quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over. «She wanted to look beautiful, and I decided to help her.»…
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