Carrie12345 Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 For those of you who set a dollar amount at which to discuss purchases, do you also have a number of purchases set? I think one of the reasons I mention nearly everything to dh is because they all add up so quickly. If we were to set a $100 limit, I could still easily rack up purchases in the thousands. I guess I really like cheap stuff, lol. I don't go spend crazy, and I don't want to, but I'd feel weird if dh looked at the bank account and had no idea that we bought GS cookies, ordered event t-shirts, snagged some curriculum deals, donated to the animal shelter, registered for some field trips, got new sneakers, downloaded a couple of books, stocked up on a grocery sale, and bought a new toaster. That could be a hefty chunk of money when all is said and done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 We don't mention everything, we both have a sort of budget to work with every month. If we go much outside that - and really big purchases would always do so - than we talk about it. But if I have extra cash and spend it all in $5 increments, that is just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 is the issue the monthly budget? Then purchases up to $100 that month, total- not each time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 is the issue the monthly budget? Then purchases up to $100 that month, total- not each time. Duh, that would make sense, lol. It isn't really an issue for us, I just wasn't wrapping my mind around how other people do it. We try to stay flexible since so many kid opportunities pop up randomly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 No. But I hold the amount of money available in my mind, and when it's gone, it's gone. So if we have $400 this month, and I buy 200$ in books and school supplies, 50$ in dipes and wipes, spend 60$ eating out and need new socks, I know we are quickly approaching shoppytime over time. Same if we have 400$ and need a 380$ plane ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 It does add up quickly and I worry about that too. I don't have a set amount that I set for purchases. I just use my common sense. I know about what is in our account and about how much is on our Visa. I try not to use the Visa so if I feel our checking account would get too low and I'd have to use the Visa, I curb my purchases. I should say that I even felt this way when I was still homeschooling my kids when they were younger. I had a tendency to curriculum hop and want to buy everything I came across. I tried to stick to things I could return or resell at the same price I purchased them. I did pretty well. I had some times when I ended up with products I had a hard time getting rid of, but not often. I just used common sense. DH never got mad at me for curriculum purchases. He trusted me to be mindful of my spending. I have been known to spend several hundred dollars buying clothes for everyone, but that is because we don't buy much as frequently. For example, I just spent over $100 on 4 pair of pants for ds. I hated spending that much at one time but I can't even remember the last time I bought pants for him. He's been wearing the same ones for more than a few years at the very least. I had to use our Visa but I did talk to DH in advance because I knew that buying clothes for 3 of us at one time would be a lot. And it was, but he was okay with it. I won't spend anything more for a while. I won't even buy a Kindle book which is less than $10. I'm just rereading the books I've got. I'm also being careful with groceries. We'll eat healthier because I'm trying to cut down on junk food because the cost adds up quickly. We simply don't need the brownies, cookies, and extra sodas right now. Again, I'm just being mindful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 We don't set number of purchases, we just deal with the dollar amount and that's why I check in constantly. Just because I'm trying to buy a $40 pot doesn't mean DH didn't buy more toner for our printer. Checking to make sure we can still swing the dollar amount in the given category is crucial. Pretty much all money not spoken for in the accounts is up for use because he does all the bill paying and investing first. Buuuuut that amount varies hugely because we both have larger purchases we budget for more slowly and a few of them trigger each pay day. So one month we might have several thousand slushing around and another month my card will decline trying to buy a hamburger. Setting number of purchases wouldn't be helpful when they vary so much in size. We just constantly check the balance of accounts and what needs to trigger for payment and when :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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