5 year wedding anniversary budget?

[Anonymous]

I already booked a really nice dinner for our anniversary. Normal Christmas/birthday spending is 1k-2k (like either a nice pair of shoes, a small Fendi bag or something like that). She has been wanting a Cartier love bracelet for awhile. Those things are 5k. Is that an insane amount for a five year anniversary? I definitely can't keep raising the bar and will be back to 1-2k gifts from now on. But I don't know what else to get her. Is that a normal UMC gift?

[Anonymous]

Our household:
"Wait, is it our anniversary? Should we plan something? Oh ok, we can order in take-out and watch Netflix."

Dude, she has you wrapped around her finger. You don't need to buy her Cartier, that's wild.

[Anonymous]

Please continue to update us every few months.

I'll need a lot of popcorn.

[Anonymous]

can you afford it or are you cheap?

Answer will be different based on your response.

[Anonymous]

Wife here- we stopped exchanging gifts a long time ago. I have a job, and when I want something, I buy it. But on occasion, my husband (or I) will state, hey, I know we don't usually do gifts for christmas but I found something you will really like so I got you something. Then I will get him one too. We like to travel a lot so that is often our gift.
She sounds very high maintenance.

[Anonymous]

We make good money and my wife would probably be pissed if I wasted $5k on a bracelet for her. Now a nice trip on the other hand $5k or maybe more can make sense.

[Anonymous]

I feel like your anniversary gifts are already quite spendy. How do you know she wants this particular bracelet - like how pointed are the hints? Do you think she expects it for the anniversary because she's told you twice this week, or has this been simmering in the background for a while?

The traditional five year theme is wood - could you find something meaningful in the $1-2k range you've been sticking to, in wood? Then you could do the bracelet for her birthday or Christmas and not have changed the anniversary present budget.

If you're super rich and presents are how you show love, splash out.

[Anonymous]

My DH got me a beautiful custom design sapphire ring for our 5 year anniversary, which i cherish. A similar piece of jewelry for our 10 year anniversary. We don't exchange gifts every year and i wear these pieces everyday. I think the Cartier bracelet is tacky and overdone, but if she really wants it get it. Stop the annual gifts though, a nice dinner is more than enough or weekend trips sometimes.

[Anonymous]

No, this is not normal unless you have a princessy wife, which you have. Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

If you can afford it and she's been hinting at the bracelet, go for it. The Cartier Love bracelet is a lovely anniversary gift IMO.

I got a diamond eternity band from DH for our 5-year anniversary for about 5k. Our usual gifts are in the 1k range, and we had no trouble going back to that budget. Milestone anniversaries should be special.

[Anonymous]

I think tradition says the 5th year is wood. I got DH a really fancy cutting board. He got us a couples massage at a spa I like.

[Anonymous]

Not sure why people are calling OP's wife high maintenance and princess-y. Why is she not allowed to want nice things? You just seem jealous and judgmental.

[Anonymous]

No, it's not a normal UMC gift for a 5-year anniversary. Get her some beautiful flowers and save $1K each year for the next five years. You can give her one on your 10th anniversary.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a lot of money, and I personally would rather put it towards a trip, or a nice piece of furniture.

BUT gift giving is about finding something that pleases the receiver, not the giver, and certainly not some rando on DCUM. It sounds like your wife likes labels and expensive apparel items, and that's fine. If you can afford it, buy the bracelet. And if you can't, maybe ask for some ideas at whatever price point you can afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why people are calling OP's wife high maintenance and princess-y. Why is she not allowed to want nice things? You just seem jealous and judgmental.

There are so many things to celebrate, birthday, anniversary, valentine's day, christmas, mother's day. I don't want my DH to get me shoes and purses and sunglasses, i buy those myself. I want something more thoughtful, less frequently. This sounds exhausting.