Wally's Words of Wisdom

While watching a few minutes of Leave It to Beaver as I rocked the baby to sleep, catching up on some good old fashioned boyhood words of wisdom, I came upon this tidbit.
Wally: "You can't just come right out and ask for something you want, if it's something really good."
Beav: "Gee Wally, why not."
Wally: "Because if they say no, you're dead."

This is a valuable life lesson we shouldn't overlook. My wife and I, in order to assure our financial security, never make major purchases without consulting eachother. This usually results in me never getting to waste money like only I can do. To her, a good time out includes spending 2 dollars on a bean burrito at the mall. To me, if it doesn't plug in, boot up, use a subwoofer, involve front-end suspension, use high-test, come in light and amber varieties, taste best medium-rare, require a remote, or take advantage of bluetooth...then it's not likely to stir my interests.

For years I've wanted a laptop, and my wife finally agreed! Woo hoo!! But there's a lesson I've learned. There are various ways to ask for something. I'll outline three, the first is my favorite. I call it my "shoot yourself in the foot" method.

1) "Honey, I've made a decision, and you're not going to like it!". This not only states up front you're aware of how she'll feel and you don't care, but has the added advantage of letting her know you kept her out of the decision making process.

2) Bit by bit method. You don't actually ask outright, you just mention things about laptops over and over, until the idea slowly forms in her own mind. This could also be the "Wally" method.

3) Guilt method. In the end, this is what worked for me. Use it sparingly! It's best when something bad has just happened in your life and she feels sorry for you, like losing your job. "Honey, I'll be 40 in a couple of weeks, I just lost my job of 15 years, I need to get started on my writing career, I'm tired of putting it off, I just got a big severence....I want to get a laptop." It came off without a hitch. She never knew what hit her.

This last method is very powerful, but like I said, use it sparingly!