5 year wedding anniversary budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Damn lots of judgment! My wife doesn't demand anything, but I know that gifts are important to her. She doesn't bug me about stuff I buy for myself, like I just got a new $4k TV and she's fine with it. So yeah we can "afford" the bracelet but like anything in life there are wants, needs and necessities. Anyway I took some advice and found a nice custom piece of wood art from Europe with a subject that she likes and ordered that. Cartier will have to wait until anniversary 10

First of all, you knew it would be judgement. You wanted it and you got it. This is nothing you needed our help on…

Actually, based on all the people on here that claim to make >300k HHI I seriously thought I was going to get legit advice. Oh well

People who make 300-600K are still basically working stiffs, many of whom had student loans and thus come into that earning power with a frugal mindset. Our income is about to increase to $550K and while we can afford to buy a Cartier bracelet every year for my wife, that's just not how we roll. We also don't buy $1L purses with frequency or $4K TVs. But we do throw about $8K every month into retirement, college, and regular savings accounts.

Two working stiffs who try to keep our spending low and investments high. That's why this area has the highest incomes and wealth per household in the country.

Lol, keep us posted

[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.

Because these aren't nice things. She just wants things to show off. She just wants to get a lot of material things. She equates expensive gifts with love.

[Anonymous]

I guess if you can afford it, sure. At that stage in our marriage, we would have used that kind of cash for an emergency fund or to pay off debt…but everyone is different. Anniversaries remain at most a nice dinner and a massage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Damn lots of judgment! My wife doesn't demand anything, but I know that gifts are important to her. She doesn't bug me about stuff I buy for myself, like I just got a new $4k TV and she's fine with it. So yeah we can "afford" the bracelet but like anything in life there are wants, needs and necessities. Anyway I took some advice and found a nice custom piece of wood art from Europe with a subject that she likes and ordered that. Cartier will have to wait until anniversary 10

First of all, you knew it would be judgement. You wanted it and you got it. This is nothing you needed our help on…

Actually, based on all the people on here that claim to make >300k HHI I seriously thought I was going to get legit advice. Oh well

Seriously dude? $300k is two government jobs. It’s middle class. Save that money. You’re going to need it.

OP here again... we do make significantly more than that. Anyway thanks for all the advice.

Our HHI is 1.2m and there's no way in hell I would feel comfortable buying a 5k bracelet.

[Anonymous]

OP, is your wife hot? If she is super hot, then the princess-y, demanding attitude can actually increase the sexy factor. But if she is homely or chubby and still makes you feel like you owe her four figure gifts, that is just gross.

[Anonymous]

On our 5th we had a 2 month old baby and we might have exchanged anniversary cards. I was recovering from a c-section so I’m not sure we even fooled around that night. No way would we have spent a lot of money since we didn’t have it.

[Anonymous]

Get out of the "gift" lane and focus on experiences. Short trips, long trips, experiences.

[Anonymous]

I have friends who have been married 20+ years and they stopped exchanging anniversary gifts eons ago, instead they take a nice trip every year.

[Anonymous]

Cartier love bracelets are actually $6k+ closer to 7k. The basic gold one with no diamonds. And that was years ago, I imagine they are more now. They are classic, hold their value, and the symbolism is special to me, and probably is for your wife too. If you can afford it, get it. It doesn’t have to mean you are raising the bar— you can set the expectation that this is a milestone anniversary and knew she wanted this, and that you agree with the symbolic nature (if you do), but also most gifts going forward won’t be this $$$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Because these aren't nice things. She just wants things to show off. She just wants to get a lot of material things. She equates expensive gifts with love.

This. Basic b****ery at its finest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Because these aren't nice things. She just wants things to show off. She just wants to get a lot of material things. She equates expensive gifts with love.

This. Basic b****ery at its finest.

But it’s classic, and the symbolism

[Anonymous]

I think if you’re getting her something from Cartier it should be something that will still be age appropriate in her 30s/40s— the love bracelet reminds me of the open Tiffany silver heart for the late twenties set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Damn lots of judgment! My wife doesn't demand anything, but I know that gifts are important to her. She doesn't bug me about stuff I buy for myself, like I just got a new $4k TV and she's fine with it. So yeah we can "afford" the bracelet but like anything in life there are wants, needs and necessities. Anyway I took some advice and found a nice custom piece of wood art from Europe with a subject that she likes and ordered that. Cartier will have to wait until anniversary 10

First of all, you knew it would be judgement. You wanted it and you got it. This is nothing you needed our help on…

Actually, based on all the people on here that claim to make >300k HHI I seriously thought I was going to get legit advice. Oh well

Seriously dude? $300k is two government jobs. It’s middle class. Save that money. You’re going to need it.

OP here again... we do make significantly more than that. Anyway thanks for all the advice.

NP. If she has a job, she can buy her own bracelet. If she doesn't, I hope you have a pre-nup for when you divorce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Because these aren't nice things. She just wants things to show off. She just wants to get a lot of material things. She equates expensive gifts with love.

This. Basic b****ery at its finest.

But it’s classic, and the symbolism

so mean-spirited. Who are you to decide what is nice to her? Why mock what she likes because it’s not for you? I agree with the pp, very “jealous and judgemental” vibes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Damn lots of judgment! My wife doesn't demand anything, but I know that gifts are important to her. She doesn't bug me about stuff I buy for myself, like I just got a new $4k TV and she's fine with it. So yeah we can "afford" the bracelet but like anything in life there are wants, needs and necessities. Anyway I took some advice and found a nice custom piece of wood art from Europe with a subject that she likes and ordered that. Cartier will have to wait until anniversary 10

First of all, you knew it would be judgement. You wanted it and you got it. This is nothing you needed our help on…

Actually, based on all the people on here that claim to make >300k HHI I seriously thought I was going to get legit advice. Oh well

Seriously dude? $300k is two government jobs. It’s middle class. Save that money. You’re going to need it.

OP here again... we do make significantly more than that. Anyway thanks for all the advice.

You sound obnoxious OP. Why are you getting offended when people are giving you their honest opinion. The DC area is not like NJ, Florida or LA. It is less flashy so the answers are hardly surprising. If she is a NJ girl, definitely get her the bracelet