My wife still has her first kitchen counter...

[recycled sixtie]

I have a wife who watches the $$$ and is certainly not foolish about spending recklessly. Many years ago in the fall of 2001 we took delivery of a fully loaded Camry(except has 4 cyl engine). She really wanted a Jetta then but I talked her into the Camry as it would be more reliable. It only has 30k miles on it. My neighbor has a Corolla which has 250k miles on it. He wants to buy my wife's Camry at a premium and she knows that. Of course it would not be a good financial decision but life is short and the Camry the way it is going could outlive us! Plus it is a bit big for her now.She admits that. Was still thinking of the Jetta but it has grown in size since 2001.

Sometimes it is not all about the $$$ but driving enjoyment.
Two questions.
1. Does anybody else have a GF/wife like mine that is totally sensible?ie does not want to spend much $$$.
2. What can I do to get her into a smaller car?

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

1. Does anybody else have a GF/wife like mine that is totally sensible?ie does not want to spend much $$$.

What? This is not possible..

[Jim Bremner]

I had a decent paycheck plus sold some samples.

I handed my wife a WAD of cash in front of her mom and told them to go clothes shopping and have a spa day.














They went out to a cheap lunch and deposited the rest in the bank.


I own more shoes in $$$ and QTY than she does.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

2. What can I do to get her into a smaller car?

It goes something like this. "Wifey, Have you just had your hair done it looks really nice? you know how the neighbour got 250k miles out of that lil ole corolla, maybe one, a bit newer, would suit you?" "There's this guy in New Zealand, not very smart, but he knows his cars, drives one every day and swears by them."

[mikeesik]

No. Nobody has a girlfriend/wife like you.

[oldE]

Actually... Yes.
My wife is the frugal one in our household. She says it is her Scots heritage.

She really didn't want to get rid of our 420,000km, 14 year old Passat in '07, but I felt it was starting to be more trouble than it was worth.

You could approach your wife's attachment in several ways: newer/smaller car might be better on fuel, easier to park, easier to see out of, etc.
You get the idea.

Sounds like she's a 'keeper' (wife, not the Camry).

Best
Les

[legion]

Frugal wife here as well.

[recycled sixtie]

Yes the new car was going to be a Mother's Day gift but as expected she declined and would like to go on more trips. Who am I to argue? My first wife(no kids thank the Lord) would max everything on credit cards, I would never have any $$$ etc etc.

Now I have my $$$, my wife has her $$$ and we have a joint account. The other day I was talking about a used P car but talked me out of it as I have only had the present one 2 years. A couple more years from now I will look at another P car. Life is for living. And yes there is a middle ground.

[LWJ]

Yes on the wife.

[E38Driver]

My wife is a saver as well. She can also use reasoning and logic as well. The other day was our 31st wedding anniversary and she is a keeper for sure.

Dave

[vash]

my wife; she is pretty frugal..like it is her super power.

when she does spend money, it is wisely spent. like home repair/improvements, health cost, like gym, good food. so she isnt a "cheap-skate".

me? guns, knives, axes, performance car parts...unwise spending.

she is fully committed and understands the differences between a "Want" and a "Need".

it gets foggy for me

like i NEEEEEEEDDDDD and new full suspension mountain bike..and i NEEEEEDDDDD to go to colorado to bowhunt elk. both of these are clearly catorgorized as "health benefit cost" to me. a gray area.

[vash]

to add.

i know a couple. they are both spenders. one of them spends, the other gets angry and needs to buy something to "get even". they stare at their bank accounts and fight to get their equal share.

tragedy of the commons..classic example. it is interesting to watch..

i'll take my situation anyday. me debating each and every purchase is a small jagged pill..no problem.

[ckelly78z]

Frugal wife of 25 years here also, but I am actually more frugal. House will be paid off in 4 years, and kids out of school/house about the same time. I actually wonder what to do with an extra $1500 a month.

It's amusing to me how many co-workers think i'm rich, or at least well off, because I drive a Porsche, and a big diesel 4x4 truck.....if they only knew the deals I got on them and that the two of them together don't equal half of the nice SUV that they are driving with no payments on either vehicle.

My wife currently is driving a 97 VW Cabrio with 188,000 miles and it needs a few things soon. I am trying to talk her into a 04-06 BMW 3 series convertible to replace it, but no luck yet.

[Zeke]

No frugality here. But she works and I don't. What can I say?

[aigel]

I don't look at the kitchen counter as "hers". And I don't have to bring out the garbage or mow the lawn either, in exchange. And my wife would take a new car, no problem, even though we have never had a kitchen remodel either.

You are probably a tightwad too otherwise you'd just go buy a car and put it in the garage. MD, push the button: Congrats!

G

[pirahna]

My wife is very frugal as well. She feels guilty and obsesses over every dollar she spends. She has a 2 year old MINI Cooper that she has only put 3000 miles on. She refuses to drive it whenever possible because she is worried putting miles on it will make it worth less.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Cheap wife here, but I married an accountant so it is to be expected. I consider myself to be reasonably frugal but she has me beat. Sometimes I have to force her to go buy herself something by picking up a gift card. I can't complain, I see the way some people live paycheck to paycheck and balancing credit card balances.........no thanks.

[billybek]

I thought the thread was titled "My wife had her first kitchen encounter"......

[Oh Haha]

My wife is very frugal as well although she's not fanatical about it. That came in handy when I was laid off in 2008.

[Shuie]

We upgraded to granite w/ a travertine backsplash a few years ago and couldn't be happier.