By Basic Tart
Posted on Saturday, July 9th, 2016
We start with Brenda and Travis and their
Halie calls her mom to let her know she got a job as a personal assistant to and executive at a makeup company. George and Halie are driving (again? Why?) and I suddenly realize Halie wears plaid flannel shirts whenever they are in the car and now I’m distracted. In this scene she’s wearing TWO plaid flannels. And I’m super confused. George is in a t-shirt so it can’t really be cold enough for TWO plaid flannel shirts.
Oh, good Lord. They are talking about finances and savings accounts and neither of them has a clue. George doesn’t even know if you can take money out of a savings account. Halie’s dad is going to be in Utah for business so they decide to ask him for advice on “financial stuff”. DuckDad (thanks Jurassic Tart) says it’s important to save, save, save because money is the root cause of most divorces. Might have been a good idea to teach your daughter about finances when she was growing up instead of over a weekend visit, “If you front end load your life the back end will look tremendous”.
Now we get to Emma and Joey. Emma is doing a selfie-interview and says if they buy a house they will use all their savings and won’t have any money left over for emergencies. Then she says, “I think that’s kind of a rough way to start out a marriage.” Yes, Emma, yes it is. So why are you pushing Joey to get a house right now? Wasn’t that YOUR idea? Emma’s dad says she grew up watching her mom take charge of the checkbook and finances and when he saw Emma doing the same he thought she should encourage Joey to “be engaged”. Emma clearly didn’t listen to that advice and continues to do what she wants. Emma and Joey are also driving and Emma tells Joey he needs to learn to cook because he spends too much money on food while she spends too much on clothes and furniture. When Joey brings up Emma getting her hair done she says it’s “actually okay for me to do…because it makes me feel better”. And the wise one has spoken. Too bad she didn’t listen to Joey and avoid the Motley hairstyle! Emma continues to lecture Joey about his allowance and how much he’s allowed to spend on things. We also find out that her paycheck goes to savings, his goes to bills and her tips are their spending money. Not a bad plan except it seems like this was Emma’s decision and she’s treating Joey like a child instead of a partner. They are still driving, Emma is still talking, and Joey fell asleep, likely due to Emma giving him a neck massage (while she drives).
Halie is excited to see her dad who is visiting while he’s in town on business. She says it’s the first time she’s seen anyone in her family in two months. While he’s there he is going to teach them about money since he is a financial advisor. His first question is if they have a budget and they don’t. We also find out that Halie thinks George is an emotional spender because one time when he was sad he bought a Taylor Swift CD. The subject of kids comes up and Halie says they want six kids and her dad is excited for them but warns that kids cost more than you think they will.
We finally get back to Brenda and Travis and the pregnancy test. In a shock to no one but the two of them, Brenda is not pregnant. They both feel relieved that they can once again avoid the topic.
DuckDad is still talking to George and Halie about finances. George works in the warehouse at an electric wholesale supply and goes to community college. Halie has a job as a personal assistant and will start college soon. DuckDad helps them figure out their budget. Then he gives a power point lecture that Halie really enjoys and makes George look like he’s about to cry:
Joey says they want to buy a house because, “Emma sees renting as throwing money into a pit. It’s more her idea but I stand behind her 100% on it.” Unfortunately for you readers I’m doing the recap this week because I’m sure Jurassic Tart would have a joke about Joey standing behind Emma. Joey and Emma decide that they don’t want a fixer upper (sorry Chip and Joanna Gaines). Emma’s mom seems to be the one pushing for them to buy a house while Joey’s parents realize how much responsibility a house is and think they should wait. I’m #teamjoeysparents on this one.
Travis and Brenda explain that they are both in school full time right now and Brenda has an office job but Travis isn’t working because he has difficult courses this quarter (see: Electronics) and his financial aid came through since he got married. Brenda says she makes $10/hour but only works 5 hours a week. Brenda’s birthday is coming up so they decide to have a party. She says they need to decide on their budget before they make a shopping list. Travis asks how much they have to spend each month and Brenda says they have no money to spend. BRB, making a LARGE NOTE to talk to my kids about money today so that they aren’t as unaware of how money works as these three couples are. Brenda’s mom says money is a problem in a lot of relationships because people spend it on things that aren’t necessary and don’t have enough for the things they need. Foreshadowing? While they are doing their budget Brenda says she will get paid bi-weekly and her checks will be “like $150 at most”. Um, Brenda. If you make $10/hour and work 5 hours a week your checks will be HALF that thanks to taxes. Brenda and Travis do not math. Brenda says she’s concerned about the differences in their spending habits. Her family didn’t have much money so she’s used to shopping at thrift stores and Travis is used to buying brand name products. Travis has $500 in the bank and Brenda has -$100 so they have $400 to spend over the next 3 months. Brenda says $120/month will not be enough for their expenses and food which is “completely unreasonable, it’s too little”. She thinks that $120/month might be enough to cover their groceries. Travis’s dad says, “I don’t even know if he can spell savings.” And then Travis says, “For this month let’s say we can spend a good amount of money and then next month we can budget.” Looks like his dad is right.
In the next scene we see Travis skateboarding and in an interview he explains how important it is to him (we figured that out when he went on a skateboard to buy the pregnancy test) and how he needs new skateboarding shoes. Uh-oh. Don’t do it, Travis! Then he’s driving with his friends and says, “I’ll probably spend like $50.” DON’T do it, Travis! His friends ask if he’s talked to Brenda about getting new shoes and of course he hasn’t. He says they have separate bank accounts but they “aren’t supposed to go buy stuff on a whim” which his friends point out is exactly what he’s doing and he laughs. They say he should blame them for making him buy new shoes. What?! Why do so many guys think “my friends made me do it” is a legitimate excuse? It’s not and it never will be. Then they start talking about Brenda’s birthday party. Travis has conveniently planned it so that he can watch the football game before the party starts. That’s right- they have no money and he’s spending money they can’t afford on skateboarding shoes the week of his wife’s birthday. He’s such a winner. He tells his friends Brenda has accused him of making football more important than her. She’s right.
Emma and Joey go to look at a house while his parents say it’s important for couples to save money and she wishes they would have done that. Turns out Joey and Emma are looking at a house that is twice their budget. Um…isn’t that something you should know before you see the house?
Halie videochats her family and then says how hard it is being away from them. Glad she mentioned it in this episode because I almost forgot how close she is to them. Then George comes in with a bunch of food and says his parents are coming over for dinner and they sent food so all George and Halie have to do is heat it up. Halie doesn’t look happy because A) she can’t be with her family so why should he get to be with his and B) they will be there in 15 minutes. George says he’s trying to make Halie feel like part of his family but she’s holding back. He sets the table while she cooks and then says his job is done. Hey George, you can cook, too! Especially when you invite your parents to have dinner and don’t let your wife know in advance!
George’s parents show up and say that it’s a nice dinner. I’m glad they like it since they bought it! In an interview Halie says how hard it is that George’s family is 5 minutes up the street and hers is so far away that she can’t see them for a few months.
Halie and George talk about how it was nice to see Halie’s dad and he talked to them about finances. George’s dad asks how she’s doing being away from her family. She says it’s hard but she “wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t love George”. George’s dad encourages her that it will get easier to be away from her family. In an interview DuckMom says, “The hardest part is we’ve worked so hard at keeping our family unit together and she doesn’t know his (George’s) family at all.” This would be why it would have been good for them to date longer and spend time with both families before they got married. Too late for that, though. George says he wants to do something special for Halie to cheer her up.
Travis gets home with his new shoes. Here’s what Brenda thinks about that:
Looks like you should have listened to me when I told you not to buy them, Travis! She immediately calls him out for buying shoes on his birthday weekend and asks how much they were. He admits they were $70 and is lucky she didn’t kill him. He says he didn’t tell her he was buying shoes because he didn’t want to argue about it. Guess what, Travis? Pretty sure you’re still going to have an argument. And I’m right. After they are done talking about the shoes Brenda says they need to go shopping for the party and Travis asks if he can stay home to watch the football game. Okay, here’s the thing: Travis is a jerk but part of that is because he’s young and immature and doesn’t know when to put his wife ahead of himself. There’s a chance he will outgrow SOME of his jerk-ness. But there’s also a good chance he will lose Brenda because of it first. If they had waited to get married they would have had better communication skills and been able to compromise more because they would have been together longer so they would have understood each other better and been more mature.
After seeing the expensive country house Emma and Joey find a cute house in town that is for sale by owner. It’s really cute and might be perfect for them. They think the same thing and then find out that the owner already has an offer on it.
George is talking with Halie about how much she misses her family and asks how he can help. Sweet, right? Except then he says he doesn’t think the solution is go see them. And he surprises her with a trip to Hawaii. That he’s already paid for. Halie is not happy or excited and does her best not to lose it on him while reminding him they can’t afford a trip like this.
Emma and Joey are still talking to the owner of the house they like and tell him if the current offer falls through they would be interested in the house. The owner says it’s unlikely to fall through but he will let them know if it does. As they drive away Joey says how stressful buying a house is. One point for Joey!
Travis and Brenda are going to get food for the party when Travis gives Brenda his phone and asks her to check the score of the game.
Brenda just gives him the look. They get to the store and Travis is practically running down the aisles and says, “…we still have time to catch the game, don’t you understand?” TRAVIS! Brenda is trying to stick to the budget and pay attention to what they are buying which gives Travis time to check the score. In an interview Travis says they are missing the game to go shopping which is “stressful and upsetting” and I want to strangle him through my TV. Travis is getting everything name-brand and trying to hurry while Brenda is trying to stick to the budget since her idiot husband bought himself shoes he doesn’t need. They finally get to the checkout where their total is $29.95 and Brenda only has $25. The cashier and I have the same feelings about this.
Halie and George are still talking about Hawaii and Halie tells him he’s “really great but it’s really a whole lot of money” and asks if he can get a refund on the tickets. George just walks away. Halie clearly feels bad but is right that the trip and the cost are not good ideas with their financial situation.
And that’s it for this week! Next week Jurassic Tart will tell you all about the Teenage Newlyweds friends!
About the Author:
Mini-van driving, coffee and wine drinking, sports loving, chocolate eating, work outside the home, cradle/cafeteria Catholic, pro-vax, married mom of 3 (including twins). I enjoy reading Harry Potter, romance novels, People magazine and true-crime. I live in the rural American heartland.
