Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Proof is in the Pudding

I have been married for almost 5 years. Even now, my husband still manages to surprise me. Maybe surprise is the wrong word. Surprise alludes to something good. Maybe shock is a better word. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband dearly, but sometimes I feel like I don't know him at all!

I have been on my grocery budget for a full month now -- enough time to calculate how much I've spent for the month of February. So, last night, I sat down at the computer to update my budget spreadsheet and see how much I've spent this month. Around $567. I also have $28 in RiteAid rebate checks coming, which brings my total for the month to $539. I ran excitedly to my husband to relay this fabulous news. His response? "So, how does that compare to how much you were spending before?"

Are you kidding me? If I kept track of that, I probably would not have needed to budget myself. What's the big deal? He wants to know the numbers to see how much I've saved. Numbers are where you see the difference, according to him. Has he not see our linen closet, the 36+ rolls of toilet paper, the 16 rolls of paper towels, the 15 bottles of shampoo, the 10 tubes of toothpaste, the 6 toothbrushes, the 6 boxes of cereal (that I had no other room for) the 10 pumps of hand soap....I think you see where I'm headed? Sometimes numbers don't do justice. The feelings of rage started to make themselves known.

My point is that I know I'm saving money. I can look around and see what I've been able to purchase/stockpile for $140 a week. What does it matter how much I am spending compared to 3 months ago? The idea wasn't cut my spending from X to Y. The idea was to get on a budget, to not spend more than $560 on groceries a month. CHECK!

This is my husband. I love accept him for who and what he is. He is an amazing father and husband. I didn't really get angry from his questions. He has a very analytical mind, so the details are important. They just get in the way for me. This morning he hugged me and told me that I was doing a great job staying on budget and he should have told me that last night. He sweet! And I told him that went through all the checks and debits from November (December and January were off months due to the holidays and my daughter's first birthday) stopped adding when I reached $1100 for the month. Yeah, there were still 3 or 4 more transactions I could have added. I guess his question was answered.

2 comments:

  1. In the beginning my hubby didn't get it at all. Right now we are budgeting $400 a month for grocery/hba, but if I find a super stock up deal you better be sure I am getting it even if it takes me over that amount.

    To help my hubby visualize I would come home from CVS lay out my goodies on the table then tell him how much I paid compared to the actually cost. So it started sinking in. Then one day I took him to Kroger as he watched me carefully shop the one store for over an hour. Then he watched as the bill knocked down from $150 to $80 something after Kroger sales and coupons. After that he really got the picture! :)

    Men need to see it to believe it.

    Amber

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  2. Thanks Amber! I will have to try laying all the things out on the table for him to see how much I'm actually getting for what I paid. That's a great idea. If all else fails, I'll take him and the kids with me to the store to see me in action. I try to avoid that because it's the only time I get to myself during the week.

    Heather @ Money-Saving Mommy

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