Reply to Wife’s routine spending

Forum Index » Relationship Discussion (non-explicit)

Reply to "Wife’s routine spending - what is normal?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Frugal mom here. We make the same HHI in Bethesda with 2 kids and I think her spending is a bit ridiculous. You are illustrating lifestyle inflation which is so common in Bethesda. Everyone is Keeping up with the Joneses. But here’s the thing - being a SAHP is a privilege that requires a financial sacrifice. It’s super hard which is why your nanny (and most of them - including our old one - really suck).

I didn’t read the whole thread but I would never be a SAHP and expect not to downsize our household budget, including my expenses on myself.

I work full time now. I spend way less than your wife on my clothes, skincare, and gym. She spends like I did before we had kids, but even then, it is excessive. Join the Bethesda YMCA for 160 for the family and cut her expensive gym membership. She does not need to be spending that kind of money on skincare. There are cheap, great products from The Ordinary, Paula’s Choice and K-beauty. She can get cheaper haircuts and color her hair at home. She should do her nails at home. I get a pedicure about once a year. I save 1200 a year for our family by not highlighting my hair and getting fancy salon cuts - my kid’s hairdresser charges me 30 bucks for a trim. And for long hair you are wasting money if you spend a lot at a salon since a long hair cut is so easy.

Look, I get wanting to treat yourself. I get wanting the fancy salon experience, the Boden clothes on the kids, the fresh blowout and nails, etc. It’s so common in this area. But your budget has shrank and I think the household spending is not aligning with that reality. No kids really need Boden clothes anyway, unless your wife is trying to impress people. I have gotten much of my kid’s wardrobes as hand me downs or for free from our neighborhood Buy Nothing group and the rest can be easily bought for cheap from Cat and Jack, Carter’s, etc.

Point being - you can’t have caviar tastes on a tight budget. Or, you can, but you’re not going to be able to make good long-term financial decisions in the interest of your future and your family’s future (eg retirement and college savings). [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics