Your wife said 'no'?
You know, this is a question that I've been wanting to ask for a long time, and this is not directed only at you, but to all responses similar to yours I've seen on such topics. It's an honest question I have, because it just blows my mind:
What the hell kind of relationship do you people have with your spouses?? I mean, seriously??! You need their explicit PERMISSION to buy something you want, with your money, and it gets to their point of people BEGGING their wives to let them buy something, only to be turned down?! How the hell do you get yourself into this kind of dynamic? The only plausible reason that a wife may be against it is if you guys are so short on cash, that $500 will break the account and drive you into poverty? And if this is the case, then you people should have a bit more responsibility than to beg your wives to let you buy something that you clearly can't afford. If you CAN afford it, and it is your $$, then why the hell do you even need to ask your wife in the 1st place, and what right does she have to refuse you? Do your wives make all the money? An iPad isn't a car or a house that needs to be a consensual and debated purchase. Your wife shouldn't have the ability (nor the desire) to stop you from buying one.
This is honestly something that Id like an answer to. Some of you seem to have a 'child/parent' relationship, instead of husband/wife. If she's the breadwinner of the house, and you mooch of her, fine I'd understand. But if you bring in the $$? Sounds like a disturbing and cold relationship. Why does she get to dominate you and dictate your decisions, void of any debate or discussion?