Sacraficing for goals, where to draw the line
I know sometimes when you are working for your goals, you need to make some sacrafices. Maybe you eat ramen for a while, avoid going out to movies/bars, etc. But where is the line for sacraficing for a cause and sacraficing too much?
One situation we are in right now… my wife’s grandfather is going to be a speaker at this formal diner soon. He would like family to be there, but in order for us to go, it will likely cost us upwards of $200. Tickets come out to $90. Neither of us go to these formal events, so we don’t have the usual attire. So I don’t have a suit or a tuxedo, so I would need to rent one, at the very least. My wife doesn’t have a formal dress to wear, so she would need to buy one. So we are figuring at least $200 in order for us to go. This totally breaks our budget, as we already are having to factor in travel and gift expenses as the holiday season approaches.
Do we say no because it is too costly, and we are trying to work towards buying a house? Or do we say yes out of obligation to the family?
As far as the relationship goes, we aren’t very close with that side of the family. We usually see them maybe 2-3 times a year. Often when we do, after a while, the usual clock watching happens where you are thinking “can we leave yet?” So we aren’t close with them, which is sad, however it isn’t exactly one sided (good amount of bad blood in there), and it has been going on since before I was around (almost my wife’s entire life, they’ve been distant). But, we are being asked to spend $200 to go to this dinner for them.
What are your thoughts? Justified sacrafice? Family obligation? Not obligated to since we aren’t very close to them?
