Denigrating influence

It's happening again.  My wife last night planted the seed which she ultimately hopes to turn into a car shopping experience where in the end she will win and get her car(or van). Work on my weak points get the right mixture of words. Work on my heart strings a little bit  use those words I explained in my last post like  "I'm not going to live like this" or "I didn't sign up for this"

This started last night. I was about to get in bed and my wife started quoting van prices she was seeing online. (*warning*) I look at vans all the time except I look in a certain price range. She then asks me if I were to buy what price range would I want. I tell her around 8000.(*warning* *warning*) that's assuming I get a good price on my van and buy a van negotiated where I still ha've a 5000 dollar loan. Then out of no where she throws these jabs at me "oh well lets see what will buy us. There's a 2010 chrysler town and country for 9k that has 145000 miles on it ooh there's a 2009 grand caravan for 8k it's only got 150k miles..."(*warning warning warning*) and that's where it starts.
Sometimes life lessons just slap you in the face. This is what happened first time I bought a car with my wife. It's also the same setup when we got our dog. The casual what do you think then comes the pros of having this possession then it's the cost or the "trust me" then if those don't work sarcasm fighting using those phrases above or denigrate the other persons opinions on the subject. I actually had the thought come to my mind I should just give in and let her see the consequences but that did not work before!
I think I have finally figured out a piece of the puzzle that I had been missing for the longest time. It's that wifely influence that causes a husband to eventually either give up give in or give in to prove a point like I did. Here's the problem the point is proven but no lesson is learned and it takes YEARS to learn a lesson all the while your probably fighting over money you could of saved if you didn't buy that big house or big car. Here's some advice take it with a grain of salt. ( not like I'm successful) take a step back together and figure out where you want to be in 5 years. Do NOT purchase a brand new vehicle to justify a need! Stay away from any debt you can including excessive housing debt.
I just returned from a trip that involved visiting my brother and I learned a few things. One main thing is that success and independence (you know that word that means NOT relying on your parents, bishop, or government to take care of you) does not depend on the things you have or can purchase but by the way you are able to sacrifice for a brighter future. He still has an old t.v. VCR he uses but he did just buy a trailer with 2 snowmobiles for under 3 grand ( that's what still gets to me why people will chose to buy a brand new vehicle when they can buy so much more for the same price) but his purchase still holds more value than what he paid for. I'm losing my train of thought and my motivation to finish this anyways my point is this. Be careful in being cornered into buying large purchases and definitely do not just give in to prove a point. It will not be proven because we are human and tend to forget.