I was on my way to celebrate my brother’s promotion within the FDNY to lieutenant when The Wife called me to tell that she bought a bed for our son, but not to worry “she saved a ton.” It took me a minute to calm down and figure out what was happening. I originally thought that this phone call was in reference to the fact that The Wife wanted/needed/pleaded for a king size bed ($3K+). I later learned that the phone call was in reference to a $600 mattress and box spring for our son. While the discovery diffused my annoyance I still was little put back that The Wife spent $600 without even a phone call to me.
Side note: Kind of weird that my little boy is making the move from a toddler bed to a full bed that he’ll have for years! He looks so damn tiny in this bed. Makes me want to sing cats in the cradle.
Do You have a Spending Cap with Your Spouse?
I don’t want to give the wrong impression, the conversation wasn’t a fight, but it did make me wonder if couples out there have an intentional conversation as to a “spending cap.” A few years ago, I wrote that The Wife as my greatest asset, and for the reasons within that post I never really felt the need to have this conversation. I also don’t think the conversation has to happen now, I just voiced my opinion that a $600 purchase should have been talked about. Not sure if she was serious or not, but she claimed that this situation was the same as the fact that I spend $500 to $1,000 a month investing in our dividend investment portfolio. I ignored the argument as it is obviously different!
My boy LOVES his new bed! He’ll tell anyone that listens that he now has a big boy bed.
I am curious who has had these types of agreements with their spouse or significant other?
That’s a good question. My husband and I usually talk thinks over, but then I realize I often spend $300-$350 at Costco on our monthly trips, and I don’t tell the husband until afterwards! We just get a lot of food there, plus other non food items that last us for months (like TP and body products), plus medicine and protein bars. But still, I never tell him about the amount before hand and I would be pissed if he spent $350 on something so it brings up a good point.
Hmmm not sure if food counts. I don’t talk to The Wife about her weekly grocery store runs (I actually did once and it didn’t turn out good for me).
My wife does like to shop but never spends alot. Just random crap. She’s pretty frugal generally so I trust her and don’t have a cap. Heck she scolded me for paying $4 for a gallon of milk. She said I coulda gone to another spot that sells it for $3! For big ticket items we always talk about it first
The Wife is pretty frugal also. She used to be much more but over the past few years it has lessened