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The meme is The Budget Busters Challenge, wherein I need to list five things that cause me to break the budget. I for the LIFE of me can't remember where I originally got 'tagged' for this, but it was too good a post to pass up anyway. If the person tagging me speaks up, I'll retcon this entry to include them.

We last left Joe searching for the CDO Monster. This week Joe examines the Modus Operandi of the Budget Buster Gang. There are five main members of the Budget Buster Gang, and in no particular order they are;

Computer Gizmo George

George is the little person that sits on my shoulder, telling me that I ought to get this new part or that new add-on for my home computer system. I say system, because we don't have just A computer at home. Let me explain;

I have 8 computers at home,

• My main box - An HP Pavilion with a Core Duo Quad processor, 8GB of ram, dual Raid 500Gb hard drives, Television in/out, connected to a 24" HP flatscreen LCD monitor which I just got last week. I have yet to max out all four processors on ANYTHING. The house lights dim for a moment when this beastie comes on, and the THX sound plays in the background while it starts up.
• The home server - EBay provided, old rack-mount 16 bay enclosure with dual processor motherboard. Older, but holds 16 drives. Currently only holds 8x500Gb drives Raid 5 striped.
• My son's computer - Another HP Pavilion Core Duo small-footprint machine, with my old 21" flatscreen LCD.
• The House laptop - HP Core Duo 17" DV9200 laptop.
• The Work Laptop - Lenovo Core Duo 15" laptop, not really used for work, so it gets double duty as another floating laptop.
• Three other 'shop' machines - An older Dell machine, and two self-built machines based off a Shuttle small-footprint ATX-based computers.

All are wirelessly connected (except my machine, gigabit ethernet baybee!) to my router/DSL access point, with an additional number of external drives hanging off of various machines.

The three shop machines get re-configured as needed, for me to play with testing, learning, and installing various software for my job.

George has an easy time of convincing me to go out and get more computer 'stuff' because my job is mainly computer-related. The better I am at everything computer, the better I do my job. It's a convenient excuse, and enables me to be on a first-name-basis with the guys down at the local MicroCenter store.

Eat-out Eddie

Eddie is another little person sitting on my shoulder that has a fairly easy time of persuading me off the frugal track. Since I travel a lot, and I've GOT to eat (and truth be known, I didn't marry my wife for her cooking), It's very easy to stop in and grab something at the local fast food.

Unfortunately, my weight and pocketbook BOTH suffer from this guy. I try to pick stuff that's somewhat nutritious, but the really good tasting stuff is also the stuff with the most calories/salt/unsaturated fats/tasty rat bits/etc.

There are times that my truck looks like the garbage bin of the local fast-food restaurants, what with all the wrappers, cups, and receipts that accumulate.

And yes, I am on a friendly-basis with most of the local fast-food stores. We have a nice conversation each morning as I get my croissants and coffee at Burger King. I even get asked if everything is ok, if I miss a few days. <sigh>

Little Mister May-I-Have-This

This is actually my seven year old, rather than any imaginary person sitting on my shoulder. My littlest one already has me figured out to a degree that scares me. He knows what buttons to push to get what he wants, and plays my wife's and my emotions like they're a musical instrument. He's got a great career in either upper-level management, or politics.

It usually starts out like;

Son: Dad, can I get _____? (insert toy he wants)

Dad: No, we came in to get something else.

Son: But big brother has three ____'s, and I've been really good. Haven't I been as good as he was?!??

Dad: Well, yes, but,..

Son: So does that mean you love HIM more than me?

Dad: No, of course not,..

Son: So why can't I have _____? You know, I'm not going to be a little boy forever, and someday I won't even want to play with toys.

(sound of resolve cracking like the shattering of an ice floe from a glacier)

Dad: Ok, but just this once (which we both know is a lie)

Son: Thanks Dad!

I just hope that when he grows up, he'll use his powers for good and not evil.

The Ghost of Walt Disney

This is actually the monkey on my wife's back. For some reason, she takes the phrase "Happiest Place in the World" as a LITERAL truth. We end up going every couple of years, and it ends up being a HUGE cost. Admittedly we have a great time, but it still busts the budget like a supernova.

This is a delay-tactic thing for me. When we have discussions about vacations, Disney always comes up as a place to go. Sometimes I can deflect it for a while, but eventually the wife starts the psychological warfare, and I know it's just a matter of time before I hear another sound of cracked resolve, and give in.

The good thing about giving in to this one though, is then the wife goes into what I call Obsessive-Disney-Planning mode. She can spend weeks and weeks, poring over web sites, advertisements, television ads, star charts, tarot cards, various small animal entrails, and other means of intelligence-gathering resources that would put the National Security Agency to shame, all in the search for the ABSOLUTE best vacation.

To her credit, even though it's been expensive, it's always been a great experience.

Did I mention we're going back again THIS year? Yep, already planned, bought, and paid for.

The Sneak

This guy is the most insidious of the bunch. He's invisible, and whispers only a few words to you to get that extra money out of your pocket. He also works with all the others as well.

George and the Sneak: "Go ahead, upgrading the memory isn't that much more"

Eddie and the Sneak: "You know, if you supersize this, you get the larger drink. Aren't you really hungry?"

The sons and the Sneak: "If you get this for the little one, the older one will want one too. Better get two."

and of course

The Ghost and the Sneak: "If we get the room upgrade, we'll get the Kingsize bed, and the boys can be in the next room!"

The Sneak is diabolical, and the only way I've been able to track him is through the trail of devastation he leaves through my budget. I find traces of him as I go through the bank and credit card statements and wonder "When did I get THAT". I've actually almost called the credit card company a couple of times to dispute charges before I remembered that I HAD gotten the extra whatchamacallit on the list.

Of all the budget busters, the Sneak is the deadliest. He can swirl your resolve and willpower around his little finger with seemingly logical 'additions' to the bill. Every chance he gets, he convinces me to 'add this' or 'don't forget that' to the point I end up almost doubling my expenses.

The Whole Gang

Even recognizing that these guys are working to get my money, it's a day-by-day struggle to prevent them from sucking all the cash out of my account. Combined, they're a force to be reckoned with, a force of nature level threat to my finances. But the battle goes on.

What are YOUR five top budget busters? Join in the meme by either writing an article if you have a blog, or commenting with your top five.

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