How to save money on gifts for your spouse
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Facebook it! | 01/26/12
Next week I’ll have been married ten years to the best woman in the world. (Yeah, I know — I’m biased.)
We’ve gotten into the habit of letting each other know before we’re about to purchase something big — something that costs in the neighborhood of $150 or more. When I tipped my plans to get a rather expensive 10th anniversary gift, my wife thought that we had better uses for the money at this time.
This leniency extends to other gift-giving occasions like Christmas, birthdays, and even Valentine’s Day.
She lets me off the hook. But there’s a catch
One of many tricks that master copywriter Bob Bly shared with the readers of his newsletter was with regard to giving holiday gifts to clients. He doesn’t feel pressure to give his best clients a gift each year. These are people who spend five and six figures (or more) a year for his services. If anyone should get a gift at the holidays, it would be these folks.
How does he get away with it? His trick is to give gifts at totally unexpected times. He might send a book to a client on June 13th as a gift. “Just because.” This gets him off the hook for a slew of Christmas gifts because there’s no expectation of one. He gives gifts that are more memorable for the recipient — and he gets to give them when he wants or when he’s inspired.
I’ve adopted that trick a bit. I’ll bring home flowers, just because it seemed like the right thing to do. $10/year around once a month buys a lot of slack around Christmas, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day.
So it’s not that I don’t get my wife gifts. I just get them at different times, when they’re not marked up horrendously.
10 Responses to “How to save money on gifts for your spouse”
By Emily Hunter on Jan 26, 2012 | Reply
I think that you’ve got the right idea! One of the things that we do is just get gifts when they’re significant. We didn’t exchange gifts for the holidays, nor do we have any special times of gift giving, mainly because they seem so contrived.
On a side note, I did tell my guy not to give me flowers if he messed up – they’ve been associated with that in my mind. I didn’t want to get accustomed to guilt gifts.
By Krantcents on Jan 26, 2012 | Reply
I try to do the same things, but probably not as consistently as I should. More than gifts, I try to think of something that she wouldn’t. For years, I bring dinner in for Valentine’s Day because it is usually during the week and we would rather celebrate privately.
By Christa on Jan 27, 2012 | Reply
My husband and I rarely do gifts as well. Instead, we enjoy gong out to a nice dinner together more sporadically (rather than on the actual holiday).
By Melissa@PersonalFinanceJourney on Jan 27, 2012 | Reply
At Valentine’s Day, it feels like you buy the gifts in part because you “have” to. What kind of rude spouse wouldn’t give a gift? Yet if you give little gifts throughout the year, it feels much more genuine because you don’t “have” to, you want to.
By MoneyforCollegePro on Jan 30, 2012 | Reply
Not buying flowers on Valentines Day has long been a ploy of mine. Especially, because I cannot stand paying a 75% markup just to buy flowers one day a year.
By I have a debt on Jan 30, 2012 | Reply
That’s really a sweet idea. I’m every wife will appreciate the “just because” thingy. I love the idea.
By Mun on Jan 31, 2012 | Reply
Congrats on your 10th Anniversary!
I love your idea of “just because.”
When someone expects a gift and thinks that he/she “should” get a gift, it’s just… not a gift anymore! On the other hand, a single unexpected flower is always a pleasant surprise.
By John Goatbirth on Feb 1, 2012 | Reply
A quick sweep across eBay is usually enough to find something unusual but memorable. That’s where I head when I’m after something unique. I think that’s a cheap(ish) way of going about things.
By Penny on Feb 3, 2012 | Reply
That’s a great strategy. I love little surprises here and there, but get a little stressed about gift giving for some of the bigger holidays.
By Jerry on Feb 13, 2012 | Reply
We’ve been selling items on eBay for years and that’s been our insurance for keeping our budget intact. That’s the money we use for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, etc.