Ok, so out of the blue Mrs Dude tells me: "Honey, you just got your Xmas bonus... Who am I to keep you from buying another guitar?" Needless to say I didn't hesitate to take her word for it!
Ended up buying me something I never thought I would: a SQUIER! Bought the new Squier Classic Vibe Tele, with a pine body, one-piece tinted maple neck and alnico III pickups. Tried it at a local music store and didn't hesitate one minute. Made in China, but she's a beauty. Plays really great and sounds really great too. We'll see how the tuners hold up in a year's time. For now they'll do.
Didn't know what to expect from the pine body, but she's heavier than I thought she'd be. There'll be a whole lotta twangin' going on in my house.

Saw the classic vibe Strats too and they actually looked pretty good too. And for +/- 290 EUR you can't complain. By comparison a MIM Standard costs about 450 EUR. The Squier's at least just as good and I actually like the pickups more than the MIM. Is Squier aiming for that "middle-class" market these days or what?