My friend, Talai, recently entitled a post "Swanky Saturday." She explained how she is emerging from the poor student phase of her life. As Matt and I are in a similar situation, it got me to thinking. Matt and I look at many things very differently, but the way we would choose to spend our money is very different (that is if we both had separate bank accounts and the money wasn't "ours"). The best way to describe me is "cheap." I'm always looking for a bargain and I get really excited when I find one. For example, if I find a shirt for $4, sometimes I'll buy it just to say I got it for $4. Most of the times this is great, but there are many times when I have found that I never use or wear it. I get really excited to tell Matt about it, but he doesn't get too excited over things like that because on the other hand, he is more about quality than quantity. He would rather spend a little more money on something that he really likes or wants than something he might use once or twice. It seems whenever we are looking at similar items, Matt tends to want to buy the more expensive item that is of better quality than one that is half the price. I think this is true for some things, but on the other hand sometimes you might as well buy the cheaper item, especially if you could buy 5 of them before spending as much as the more expensive item.
For the most part, I think Matt and I for the most part really compliment each other when it comes to spending money. A good example of this is a picture from Costco that I wanted to buy the other day. The one I had picked out was 11 x 14 and was $57 dollars. As I mentioned before, $57 for a starving student is like food for a whole week, so I almost cringed even thinking of buying it. I decided to take Matt later in the week to help me decide which one to buy, and to make a long story short, we ended up getting a panoramic picture that was 5 times the size for $199. It retailed for $440 so it was still a good deal but I've never spent that much for a picture. Now that it is all said and done, I'm really glad we got the really big one, even though it was a little more money. It will really look nice over a fireplace or couch and will stand out a lot more than the little one I wanted to buy initially.
How do you and your mate fare when it comes to spending money?
10 comments:
ok, first of all, love the new look of your blog--your so good at this!! and i love that picture of the temple--is that what you bought? love it!
you guys sound exactly-to-a-T like Justin and I, except I'm like matt and Justin is like you. (must be a shane thing!) i remember, pretty soon after we were married justin came home from the store and was so excited becuase he bought a box of candy canes for like ten cents. like we would ever ever ever eat a box of candy canes--this was way after christmas by the way. that was my first glimpse into how he liked to spend money. fortunately it hasn't caused problems for us--like you said, we just compliment each other. i learn from him, he learns from me. isn't it funny how different a couple can be though???
Jess, I totally relate to this! Dave is like Matt, and I am like you. Dave is convinced that if he is going to buy something, he is going to buy the best and nicest, so that it lasts. Whereas if it is my choice, I think buy the cheaper one, especially if it is not something that is going to be used a lot. For example, Dave and his power tools. I think that as long as you guys balance each other out with it works really well.
It must definatly be a Shane thing. I'm more frugal and try to find good deals. When Jeff goes to the store and I ask him how much he's spent, he always says , "Oh, I don't know", and I always respond, "How can you not know, didn't you listen to the cashier?" "Do you look at prices?" I'm sure glad I do the grocery shopping, because I know that we would probably be spending triple than what we do.
I usually choose quality over quantity but then end up feeling guilt about spending the money. I stress about money whereas Chris doesn't. I pretty much hate shopping for that reason. On the other hand, it always feels good to buy something that you end up using and liking for a long time. I love a purchase that you can, a year down the road, still feel was worth it.
Your blog looks amazing! Great job! And, I love that picture (oh, and thanks for the name drip,that was nice.) I am a lot like you, love the bargains! But, I always try to keep a balance and remember what is worth spending more money on (like a good piece of furniture I will use forever). I think pics can also be worth spending more on. When Aaron and I were in San Fran. on our honeymoon we spend 75 bucks just on an original print that we fell in love with and I am so glad we did. Not only does is bring back good memories of our honeymoon, but I will hang use it for decoration forever.
i spend and jason smiles at me patiently and lovingly.
i am a penny pincher when it comes to groceries and most household items. jason makes sure that we have checked all of the goodwills and second hand store for bargains before we buy something new. a lot of times we end up getting great deals and other times he resigns to buying new.
i usually prefer quality (the best i can comfortably afford) to quantity. but i am a sucker for 75% off candy canes in january.
Also love the new blog look - so great! And the picture is beautiful - it was definitely a good purchase!
Hey you copied our present we got for mom and dad! J/K I love those pictures! WE are going to get the Salt Lake one when we can!
ooooo...when I saw that in your car last week, it made me want the really really big one of the Manti Temple (that I saw at Deseret Book for about $500). I too am a cheap penny pincher, but I find I have expensive taste. Scott likes to save up and buy quality. That is WHEN he spends the money. He's all about "save save save". So I deal with my DI pants (hello! Brand new Old Navy jeans for 6 bucks) and we eat a lot of rice. I think we're still trying to find that "real life after college" thing.
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