Mum rang this afternoon to tell me that she was buying herself a new microwave. Apparently the "old" one had just stopped working. She got pretty shirty when I suggested that she ask the Warden try replacing the fuse first, and it became obvious that she just wanted to BUY something. As the conversation progressed it turned out that she'd already called her preferred store in the nearby town who "are very good" and that the new one would cost around £40. I asked about delivery, but she insisted that delivery and installation were free. I pointed out that if she had rung me first, I could have given her several options on-line and arranged delivery for less, but she stuck to her guns, eventually admitting that she'd already agreed to buy and arranged delivery for Monday. I rang the shop she'd used, which turned out to have a delivery charge AND a charge for taking away the old equipment, which means that she'll be paying £65 in all. Needless to say, she wasn't very happy that I'd checked up on her. This shop has done pretty well out of her, too. This is the same place she bought her new fridge from earlier this year, despite the faulty one being under a guarantee which would have seen it replaced free of charge! A guarantee which she was still making payments on when I got down there this summer...
Mum just wants social contact, and if it means paying someone for that little bit of interaction, so be it. You can hear the excitement in her voice - it's been the same since Dad died and she started having pointless work done on the old house. She just needs company, and she'll happily pay for it. And I'm the bad guy for trying to look out for her and save her money.
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