From Him Mondays: Brokalope.

Shh…We’re here observing the brokalope in his natural habitat. Do you see how the majestic brokalope moves very swiftly and frugally so as not to disturb his bank account. Notice the empty bags of dollar menu items…And pay close attention to the way he drives only within two miles of his apartment.

We decided a few weeks ago that Lizzie shouldn’t stay at her job. It all made sense then. Something about an internship, being a full-time student and…I’m forgetting something…yes, that she wanted to spoon out children’s eyes when she worked there. {Family portrait studio}

Now we’re three freelance projects deep, waiting for the checks to arrive and payroll is Friday for me.

Perhaps you’re thinking: “Hey, how come you don’t manage your money better?” or maybe, “Hey jackass, no one cares about your financial problems, feed me WEDDINGS, damnit!” And to youse, I say, calm down, por favor.

Truthfully we didn’t have much money left after we traveled to the world Salsa Championship this weekend, we took home second place, wasn’t really worth it without the $10,000 prize. Maybe you didn’t recognize us from the video.

Of course I’m kidding. Really, it was a matter of timing, all of the bills are set up to withdraw in the same week and our cats got sick this week as well. Fleas. Excellent.

To tell you a little about Lizzie’s and my relationship, we started off in Texas as doing really well for our ages separately. Lizzie was a dependent on her mom’s insurance and what not, living at home, full-time student and making bank at a four-star restaurant in Fort Worth. I was in Vegas working full-time paying for nothing but food and entertainment. We’ve always joked that we have waves of wealth. We do have a good savings plan going, but Lizzie swats at my hand like a fly when I suggest dipping in for some buffer. Something about our futures…buying a house…who knows {kidding}.

So anyways, what does my seeming financial irresponsibility have to do with us?

The first time I suggested we get married was the first time we were both overdrafted in our accounts. We just funded an impromptu move to Chicago together. We were driving two hours every day to see one another. Enjoying lavish, kingly meals. Well, Burger King’s a king, right?

So we’re sitting on a mattress on the floor, playing Super Mario on a broken Super Nintendo in our pajamas…with no gas to get her home and no food in our bellies. I felt so…weird, I suppose. Not having a dollar. Actually, having negative-hundreds-of-dollars and no prospects on the horizon for jobs. Lizzie sat down and worked us up a plan for how to get it all done and by the end of the week, we were all good, with money to spare, and jobs lined up for the future.

She never went into the mode of, “How could we be so…” “What were we thinking…” Just got right down to it, and in such a weirdly negative moment, I knew this was a girl who was down for the long-haul. That she loved me even with no money whatsoever. In the beginning, you’re paying for meals, (flights for us), movies, concerts…you’re really just trying to impress the girl you’re into. Then when all of that falls apart (too early, really), and she’s all, “Hey, it’s cool, we’ll figure it out” while eating ramen with you, it’s a strangely epic bonding moment.

We vowed to talk about our finances with each other, even if it was uncomfortable. So we’re back in a (not so dire), but tight situation.

I know there’s a lot of “What does it all mean” and “What is love? (baby, don’t hurt me)” posts going on. I didn’t feel that I was ready to add to that conversation without any serious thought, so I will say, sometimes it’s as simple as knowing this person is with you through good and bad. She’ll stay up til 7 looking over receipts and statements seeing what we can change and cut out in the future.

At times, love can be boiled to just a feeling, I know that’s the opposite of what I’ve been reading, but not the butterflies in your stomach feeling….the “It’s all going to be okay with this girl” feeling.

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