Training My Husband To Save Money

When I met my husband 21 years ago, I was taken with his fun, impulsive attitude. He loved to do things on the spur of the moment and life was full of surprises when we were dating. Then we got married, and the surprises turned into spontaneous purchases that drove me crazy. He is the yang to my yin, so I can't complain about his uninhibited nature, but I can't stand having any debt. So, I began a husband-training course about finances and living within our means that has take 20 years to come to fruition.

The idea of setting financial goals and saving up to meet them was alien to my husband. He came from the school of "buy now, figure out how to pay later". I handled the finances for a long time, because I enjoy doing it, but when I put him in charge the light bulb slowly started to shine.  He is pretty good now about coordinating purchases with me, but every once in a while his impetuousness still takes over.

Here is a recent example:
Jeff bought a special engine block heater cord to quick start his truck in the morning and get it warmed up quickly. He shopped around and compared prices and got a deal for only $15.00.

Jeff installed it on the truck himself (yay for free labor!) but found he needed an extension cord to plug it in to the garage outlet overnight. So, on his lunch break at work he ran over to The Home Depot and spent $31.97 plus tax on this!

When he told me, I informed him that we had a bag full of extension cords in the basement. But he said it had to be a 3-prong, grounded extension cord, and we didn't have any of those.

So, I went to Rite Aid and found this right in on the aisle of Christmas/Seasonal items for $12.99. And since I paid for it with my UP Rewards, it was FREE!

Notice that both cords are 25' long. While Jeff's is 14 gauge for medium duty, and mine is 16 gauge for light duty, it is still sufficient for his needs.

This is why I do as many money maker deals as possible at drugstores, even for things I don't really need. I can give away or sell the things our family won't use, and then when some crazy purchase like this comes up, I can cover the cost with my store rewards. 

Tomorrow Jeff will be returning that Home Depot cord on his lunch hour!