“Why did you come home half drunk?”/“I ran out of money.”

“Honey, sorry I came home half drunk. I ran out of money!” is a jocular drinking saying that has been printed on many images. This husband-and-wife exchange was printed in many newspapers in March 1954, taken from the magazine Polywog:
 
Wife: “What do you mean by coming home half drunk?”
Husband: “It’s not my fault—I ran out of money.”

 
     
7 March 1954, Orlando (FL) Sentinel, “The Cheering Section,” Florida Magazine, pg. 16D, col. 3:
Wife: “What do you mean by coming home half drunk?”
Husband: “It’s not my fault—I ran out of money.”
Polywog
 
31 July 1955, The Washington Post and Times Herald (Washington, DC), “The Wit Parade” by E. E. Kenyon, The American Weekly, pg. 15, col. 3:
“What do you mean by coming home half drunk?” shouted the woman angrily.
 
“Couldn’t help it, honey,” answered the husband meekly. “I ran out of money.”
 
Google Books
Country Chuckles, Cracks & Knee-Slappers
By Michael J. Lessiter
Brookfield, WI: Lessiter Publications
1992
Pg. 117:
“What do you mean coming home half-drunk?” the angry farm wife asked. “It wasn’t my fault,” replied her husband. “I ran out of money.”
     
Twitter
fundoofun‏
@fundoofun
Jeeto: What do you mean by coming home half drunk?
Santa: It’s not my fault…I ran out of money
7:56 AM - 28 Mar 2009
 
Google Books
It’s Better to Die Laughing Than to Be Dead Serious:
How to Be the Life of Party, the Podium, and Everywhere in Between

By Marvin Maupin
Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse
2010
Pg. 67:
Woman to husband: “How do you explain coming home half drunk?” He said, “I ran out of money.”
 
Google Books
Bob and Brenda’s Joke Book
By Paul Gwilliam
Lulu Press (Lulu.com)
2013
Pg. ?:
A man rolled home drunk to find his wife waiting for him. “What do you think you’re doing coming home half drunk?” she bellowed. “Sorry honey,” he replied. “I ran out of money.”
 
Twitter
Shit Jokes‏
@ShitJokes
Wife: What do think you’re playing at coming home half drunk?
?!
Husband: I ran out of money.
2:31 AM - 8 Jul 2017