ItsJustMe

For hobby type purchases, I take $150 per paycheck and put it in a separate account. It's up to me what to spend it on. I actually don't spend anywhere near that much, so I now have a few thousand bucks in that account. I'm planning on using it for some extra short vacation trips this summer.

dynodonn 

Whatever works for you and your wife, just seems that having to discuss every purchase over 50 dollars and watching my money account multiple times a day, is what I would consider a waste of time that we could use planning/doing something else.

KBentley57

It's not so much a "permission" issue. We spend more than that on groceries all the time. It's more for "luxuries". It's not a one way street either. She comes to me if she has something she wants, and we usually try to think if we really need whatever it is we're wanting, or if there is a similar object but cheaper, ect.

Also we're both college students, so yeah. We're not broke, but we could be if we didn't manage so closely.

dynodonn 

I understand your financial concerns, my wife and I have a dedicated household fund that we contribute a predetermined amount each pay period to. As long as the household fund contribution is met, any amount of money left over in each of our accounts is to be spent or saved as we like, eliminating any time spent on discussion meetings over one's personal expenditures.

Praxis

So here's the thing: she handles the finances, so the credit card statement tells all. If I end up spending an extra couple of hundred dollars, she'll tell me to lay off the driving and bike some more (my commute costs a gallon of gas a day).

What was the problem, again?

FunkyStickman

This is exactly the same boat I'm in, except I have a family of 6. When I was discussing building my LHT, I was going on and on about justifying it... my wife just said "You know what, if we can afford it, and you're going to actually use it, then get it." I almost fell over from shock. Sometimes they just surprise you. She's happy, I'm happy.

jdgesus 

i only hide my other family from my wife

GP

Receipts are in a #10 envelope next to my checkbook.

My wife doesn't care how much I spend on my bikes.

MK313

My co-workers must think I'm an idiot. I'm sitting here laughing like a fool. That could be the funniest post I've ever seen.

misslady77

I do hide the receipts from my husband. He knows I buy stuff, but doesn't know how much I spent. We both work and I make sure my portion of the common bills are paid. So....what's he got to complain about? He still doesn't know how much I spent on my last bike. I told him its under $1000.00. He got a new car; I got a new bike and the bills are paid - that's all he needs to know...lol

CJ C

Partially serious, i hide them more because of GUILT. i am always on her about the new tops, new purse, new bracelet, new ring, she wants. i talk her out of about half of the things she wants. So my guilt and not being a hypocrite i have hidden my LBS receipts. I wont be able to hide the Ebay packages. Should be getting one soon.

she likes my new hobby as its makes a healthier husband but i think if i added up the costs at the end of the year and told her i will have to hide all the knives first!


PS i do the finances in the house so she doenst really look at our account.

Seattle Forrest

Why do you need to keep the receipts?

chandltp

Well, considering we don't make unplanned purchases very often, we don't have that many discussions. If we didn't have a budget planned for groceries, utilities, gas, insurance, gifts, etc we would have a lot more discussion.

Leebo

I usually put $ 20 in the sock drawer every week to cover bike stuff. At $4.00 a gallon x18 miles one way, bikes are cheap. We discuss larger purchases.

mconlonx

Layaway at the shop I work at, which I can pay over time with income the wife never sees.

dcrowell

How do you afford a bike with two wives?

colleen c

Just like our previous state governer?

Scooby214

Commuting to work (not daily) saves me $60-$75 per month. That money becomes mad money that I can enjoy. Other than that, my wife and I do each get a small amount of play money, though finances are pretty tight around the Scooby214 household right now.

Andy_K 

I usually leave my receipts on a random surface in the garage. If it were a point of contention, I'd insist on keeping all transportation receipts together -- bike receipts in the same envelope as gas receipts.

MLKATO

I don't hide receipts from my wife,or keep any secrets from her any more. When we first got married,I bought a bass guitar with money she didn't know I had.I hid the bass under the bed and she found it cleaning up one day. So I had to come clean and confess I thought she would've been mad if she knew I bought it without asking first. She was mad because I bought it and didn't trust her enough to ask first,because she wouldn't have cared. Now I ask,and if we have the money,I generally get it. With exception of guitars,which she says seven plus a mandolin and dulcimer are too many. Ukelle will be purchsed soon however.

snowman40

I have this problem too

Just when I think that spot or the crock pot is safe, she uses them....

lol....nice

For my stuff, I don't keep receipts after a few days. only receipts I actually habitually keep track of are gift receipts for birthday presents.


O, and separate accounts FTW! What's hers is hers, what's mine is mine and I pay the monthly bills most of the time.

Ira B

Well if I am to be whipped I would prefer to be P whipped.

Erwin8r

I'm pretty sure the OP's post was more tongue-in-cheek than anything else.... That being said, I have suffered, quite regularly, from the "better to ask forgiveness than permission" syndrome myself, and have failed to mention a purchase or three if not asked about it... LOL! My wife has become quite shrewd, however, and she knows when a new box appears in the garage or recycling bin... Or if I suddenly spend more time around the bikes or motorcycles...

Still, all-in-all, I DO spend too much $$ on my hobbies, and it IS nice to have a good checks-and-balances system. Nothing overbearing or deceitful, but just enough transparency to ensure harmony.

jdgesus 

neotheone

Why hide it? When she finds it, if she has a problem, just say "Would you rather I spent the money on gas?"