Comments on: Saver Wife vs Spender Husband

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 21:35:50 +0000

My wife & I have a similar income to these two before the move in an area with a much lower cost of living. None of my peers at work drive a car as expensive as the Jag pictured in the article, and many of them have combined incomes 50% or more higher than the couple in the article. Maybe he was misquoted, but it sure looks like the photographs back up the quotes.

By: bishophicks

bishophicks — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 20:11:24 +0000

I’m the saver, my wife is the spender. Fortunately, neither one of us care about flashy cars. I recently “hit six figures” and I drive a 6 year old Corolla. Keeping shiny, expensive cars (”sizzle” costs extra) in the driveway. Pay cash for cars that fit your needs and drive them until they don’t, and you will save a fortune compared to the person who gets a new car every 3 or 4 years.

I save money for two main reasons: I want to retire early, and I want a safety net in case something bad happens (outsourcing is a genuine threat for us programmer types). They lost half their income and burned through most of their emergency cash and had to tap home equity. If the same thing happened to us, we could last more than 10 years. But my wife looks at the account statements and says, “what’s the point of having all this money if we never get to spend it.” The notion of being abe to send our kids to college, quit our jobs in 10-15 years (we are 40) and spend the rest of our lives doing whatever we want is completely lost on her.

By: ‘Dude… You’re Getting a Divorce!’

‘Dude… You’re Getting a Divorce!’ — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:27:41 +0000

[...] [Michael & Brittany seems to have grabbed a few people’s attention: Jane Dough over at Boston Gal’s Open Wallet, Cap over at Stop Buying Crap, as well as Frank the Financial Savvy Atheist all seem to have a thought or two to share as well…] [...]

By: Randy

Randy — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:55:18 +0000

What I do is have a “wish list” on the fridge.
If I want something over $50 I put it on the list. At the end of the month I evaluate and deside. What normally happens is that by the end of the month I dont really want it anymore.

By: Cap

Cap — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 06:22:26 +0000

Looks like I’m not the only one who got tickled in a wrong way by this guy. Still, they may have misquoted him just to make the article a bit more sizzling, if anything. His silly remarks were also made before their income was significantly cut.

Issac makes a great point, communication is key. I still can’t imagine not working out these important details before you hitch, but eh, I’ve made my share of relationship mistakes too.

on another note, I gotta catch up with those interviews over at Money Blogger Podcast.

By: Jocelyn

Jocelyn — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 05:05:53 +0000

They should give each other a budget on what they can spend for birthdays and Christmas. I feel that the husband spending $2500 during Christmas is a bit much.

The article has a lot of smart ideas that I’ll use.

By: Paco

Paco — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:35:55 +0000

What a jackass.

10 to 1 that he leaves her for a younger woman that is “more in line” with how much money he’s making.

By: franky

franky — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 21:33:28 +0000

Here, here Kira. Although if I’m staying up till two it’s usually because of my kids :).

Also, I liked your interview with Scott over at the moneybloggerpodcast. I thought you sounded nerdy, and I mean that as the highest compliment (being a nerd myself)!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:04:51 +0000

This sounds like a marriage heading straight towards divorce. The first time those kids spit up inside that sizzling ride, it’s over — provided they’re even allowed inside.

By: Kira

Kira — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:50:01 +0000

This guy pisses me off. He just doesn’t think about what he is actually getting for his money. And him saying that his wife should take off her “hair shirt” and “live a little” throw up the stupid old line that you can only live a good life and have any fun if you are willing to spend money. What ever happened to having good friends and thinking staying up till 2 talking is the most fun ever? Spending money is not all there is to life!

By: Isaac Harris

Isaac Harris — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:39:50 +0000

This is a reflection of the difference in ideologies that my wife and had before we got married. But we did discuss these things before the big day came and we merged finances. My wife likes the security of having money in the bank because she moved to CA from AZ by herself and struggled for the first year. She has finally payed off debts accrued during that time.I, on the other hand, had lived at home until I was 26 and after that lived with a friend, but was close enough to home that if I didn’t have money for food, I just mooched off my folks. If there was money in my account, I needed to find a use for it. She helped to encourage me to begin saving money for purposes other than my 401(k). So when we married we decided that the balance of our checking account would not go below a certain amount unless it was a dire emergency, and we have stuck to that as well as saving a certain percentage of our gross income to use towards long term goals like a down payment on the house. Discussing the isssues ahead of time has allowed us to avoid the fights that many newlyweds face in the first years of marriage that can often lead to divorce. Being honest about debt situations and cash flow prevent the unpleasant surprise of shortfall. In addition using tracking software such as Quicken or MS Money helps you to gauge where your money is going and where cutbacks can be made if necessary.

By: franky

franky — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:04:35 +0000

I agree about the husband. I especially liked this line: I want to drive something more in line with how much money I’m making.
Notice he didn’t mention the fact that their income fell by more than half! Does that mean they’ll need to cut back on the car? Of course not. The logic of some people.