I won't advise you one way or another relative to financial priorities, that's ultimately up to you and/or your wife. But I will chime in about that rod. I was previously lukewarm on a lot of the TFO offerings, though I've always thought they were a fine company, but that BVK is in a class by itself in my opinion. I've had plenty of rods that cost much, much more than that one, but I thought the BVK cast as nice or nicer than any of them. I liked the 5 weight so much that I've bought two in fact, and I think it's as versatile and pleasant to cast as just about anything else I could hope to find, especially at its price point. There will always be nice rods to buy out there, and you may in fact find one of these used or on closeout someday at a price similar to your local shop's sale, but if you do figure out a way to justify it financially, I suspect you'll be thrilled with the rod.