How did you get your husband (or wife) on board?

[PMFan]

my DH doesn't do much shopping but when he does go to HD or Lowes etc, if there is a coupon, he'll use it.

doing the math proves using coupons makes good financial sense.

let's say by using coupons you avoid spending $150 monthly, at the end of the year, that is $1,800.

that could be used to pay off bills, pay for a vacation or be invested toward retirement.

invest that $1800 annually for 10 years at 10% and you have nearly $32,000.00.

[mama22qts]

Originally Posted by PMFan my DH doesn't do much shopping but when he does go to HD or Lowes etc, if there is a coupon, he'll use it. doing the math proves using coupons makes good financial sense. let's say by using coupons you avoid spending $150 monthly, at the end of the year, that is $1,800. that could be used to pay off bills, pay for a vacation or be invested toward retirement. invest that $1800 annually for 10 years at 10% and you have nearly $32,000.00.

YUP, yup, yup. That kind of talking got my dh on board as well...

Now my new quandry is that he will spend money BECAUSE we have a coupon for it...

(that's not the idea!!)

I'm glad I'm the frugal one in our family because I'd really hate it if someone was telling me all the time NO we cannot buy that, that's ridiculous, are you KIDDING??, not hardly, etc. And over the past two weeks all of that has come out of my mouth.

Actually, though, if you add up all the big ticket purchases he makes over the course of a year with coupons, and all the little stuff I buy with coupons, he still does ok. I just hate spending $$. No getting around it.

[Need2Save$]

Once, I was not feeling well at all and it was the last day of the sale and I haven't missed shopping weekly in months. It was getting late and I should've been in bed, and surprisingly, my DH offered to do the shopping for me. I was uncertain, unsure, concerned, paranoid, etc., but I thought this might be a good opportunity for him to see what hours of me couponing is all about. So, I had my list written out with specific sizes and quantities of each item and the envelope of coupons. I asked him nicely to please stick to the list as much as possible, but if he saw anything he really wanted/needed to pick it up.

So instead of laying in bed to rest, I was worrying if he'd remember to stick to the list, if he paid attention to the specific sizes that were on sale, if the cashier would give him problems, etc. I was worried it was a mistake sending him to do the shopping.

But when he came home, I was pleasantly surprised that he stuck 100% to the list and everything on sale was still available. (As we all know, many times the last day of the sale we need to ask for rainchecks.)

I was so proud of him and thanked him. And he was amazed he was able to save $30-$35 in sales and coupons for the items that he bought.

My DH is still getting used to me couponing. He sees me spend hours sorting, clipping, matching to sales, etc. and thinks I do it only for financial reasons. He tells me some day we won't need to clip coupons when we make more money, but I told him it's a hobby. I LIKE saving money and finding deals. If you're buying something, why not save money buying it? Even my kids get involved. Whenever they see a blinkie in the store, they get excited and grab me one. They also know that I buy things only when they're on sale and have a coupon. So, when they ask me to buy something, and I tell them it's not on sale but I'll buy it next time when it goes on sale, they don't nag me for it.

Sometimes I'll come home with a random new item and tell DH it was on sale and I had a coupon for it and only paid $.xx for it. It's a good way to try new products that we normally wouldn't try. If it goes well, then I'll make a mental note for next time to look out for the coupon and sale.

Like many of yours, my DH also feels that because we saved $30, that now we can splurge with that $30. I don't quite see it that way, however, I do believe we should be rewarded in someway. Like everyone has suggested, maybe saving that $ for a fun night out with the family. Or maybe surprising the family with something. I, myself, haven't "rewarded" ourselves with money saved by couponing, but after reading this thread, I think that is a great way to show the family how saving through couponing enables us to afford and enjoy other things.

OP, I feel your pain. I'm sure your DH will come around. Maybe your supermarket can still honor your coupons for the items your DH did buy. Once, after shopping for an hour and ready to go home, I wasn't paying 100% attention when I was getting rung up. I only gave the cashier half of my coupons. After driving all the way home, I looked at me receipt and knew I had coupons for certain items that weren't reflected on my receipt. I looked in my coupon folder and there they were, the balance of the coupons. I went back and customer service honored the rest of my coupons, like 12 of them, with no problems.

[MariaT]

DH really got on board when I showed him a spreadsheet that tracked all my receipts. It makes a huge difference to see it all in black & white. Plus the incentive is every few months now we make it our goal to save for a common purchase that we can both enjoy. Last November we bought a new TV for the family room. Now we are "saving" for a new floor in the kitchen and a new set of table & chairs. Yes, we can afford to buy these things outright but it's fun to see how long before the coupon savings add up to these big ticket items.

[livingalmostlarge]

Okay I've been couponing like 6 weeks and I've stockpiled a nice amount of stuff for pretty much free. But today finally DH saw our medicine cabinet and started having a huge fit. He flipped out and was really pissed. He said we don't need so much stuff. He doesn't care that it was free, he said there are two of us and we don't use stuff up like families.

Mind you I am not a huge fan of stockpiling, I've got like 5 bottles of body wash, 5 tubes of toothpaste, 3 advil, 3 aleve, 2 excedrin, and a few razors. CVS mainly, I buy one paper a week, and I look for extras here and there. I am not making money on CVS, but I'm just looking for little savings here and there.

And I get there is only the two of us. And we take a long time to use stuff up, thus why I haven't bought any laundry detergent, any other stuff I won't use even if it's a money maker.

But he just won't listen. I have been trying to explain to him the need to stockpile and replenish a few items, but it's just mad about it. He says we're wasting money, I showed him receipts for OOP about $1, and our excel spending sheet and he said "you still spent $10" for the month. Arrgh, he just kept on and on and on. He can't stand the stockpiling at all.

I've been hiding the stuff and keeping stuff in the trunk of my car. I feel awful because he's so angry about the stuff. I knew this and thus I set limits on how much stuff I would buy, even great deals.

I have no idea how to convince him. I am not a spendthrift, I do not buy for buying but I like having bought all these things for a almost free and I like the fact that we have 5 (I just decided to limit everything to the CVS number).

Should I just donate everything? If so where do you donate your stuff? And if not, how do I convince DH to just relax. And yes I spent a bit out of pocket at first, but not a lot.

[jujubee]

If you do a search of the forums, you will see that there are many threads asking basically the same thing. Read through those and you may get some good advice and good support.

I don't have an easy answer, b/c my DH doesn't care, even surprised me by turning a closet into an "coupon office", and put shelves up in our basement. He instantly saw that we were saving money, and he's never questioned it.

Since there are just the two of you, hopefully you will come to a happy medium. Maybe agree to keep only a years supply of any item on hand at a given time, and keep a "to donate" bag/bin in your trunk for extras. Many local charities will gladly take your donations; women's shelters, Ronald McDonald House, food banks, churches, etc.

Good luck!

[Q_ponQ]

I do CVS...
there are just DH and myself. I know one thing for sure...I used to go to Walmart about once a month and spend about 50.00 on laundry detergent, panty liners, cat litter, mouthwash. tylenol (generic)


I am rarely in there any longer..
also, the paper good part of my weekly shopping list, has disappeared!
I don't buy any paper towels, toilet paper, Kleenex. at the supermarket!

I skip right over that isle!

Has your food/paper products budget been better?

Have you increased anything in your savings account?

I have....there's the proof!

[oobella]

i think maybe you can ask him if there is a certain limit that he would allow you to use a month for stockpiling, and go from there, maybe when you have to much of something you can ask HIM to pick someone that he would like to bless, and when he feels how great it is to give to others without killing your bank account he'll be excited and proud! of you and himself! and be excited about it! also you can use it for gifts make gift baskets and he'll see he didnt have to buy gifts etc...just thought id give u some tips, hope it helps...

[ladywaterwind]

Um, maybe this is just me, but this sounds a little off. You only spent $10...for a MONTH...and on things you will eventually use...what's his problem? I understand husband's just not getting it, but to actually yell at you and make you feel bad for trying to help your family financially is just crazy to me.

You only spent $10 and at least have a 5 month supply for the two of you on the things you mentioned. Considering the 5 body washes alone would cost you $20 at WM, I think $10 is awesome for all that you have.

[iran2day]

I thought it sounded a little off too.

Is he normally so uptight about finances? Is there something he isn't telling you or is it status quo for him to yell when you change something?

Maybe you could do something special for him with the saved monies and explain your savvy shopping allowed you to do that.