Do you spend more when your family tags along at the store?
@happythoughts (4109)
United States
October 16, 2007 4:26pm CST
When I go to the store to do our shopping I am very focused. I get in and go through the list. I keep track of what I am spending and I stop when Ive hit the limit. When I take my kids they are a bit distracting and asking for everything under the sun but the worst is my husband.
I have to shop fast or else my husband will put us in the poor house. He buys magazines, and other useless iems when I am not watching. He does not do it to be seaky but he seems to always do it. I spend $30 to $50 more when he tags along.
Does anyone else have this problem?
6 people like this
18 responses
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
17 Oct 07
Sounds like my family! I go in, get what we need, compare prices and usually walk out with a small treat for me and money left over. When they all come along, we spend more than we needed to and have twice as much stuff as we planned to get. It always starts with the kids getting a case of the gimme's, I say no, Daddy gives in, Daddy wanders off to take a break from shopping with kids, comes back with a few things he wanted, kids ask for more, Daddy wanders off with them so I can finish the shopping in peace, they come back with even more...
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
Im glad that I am not the only one with this problem. If I send my hubby off he cna only get what he can carry! Great plan.
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
17 Oct 07
Just make sure he only wanders off alone once per shopping trip! Several amfuls add up fast too LOL
@sizzle3000 (3036)
• United States
17 Oct 07
when I go shopping I usually have a list and know what I am going to buy. I am not saying that some times there is something on sale that I missed so I buy a little extra. Some times I have a coupon and the item is a good price so I add it to the cart. My daughter is very good with not putting a bunch of junk in the cart. She knows that if I have coupons or it is cheap she will get what ever she wants. My husband on the other hand, doesn't care if it is on sale or not. He wants what he sees and he pays for it. Even though, I tell him it is not on sale this week or I don't have any coupons on the items. My shopping trips run about ten to twenty dollars however, when he goes it can jump up as much as twenty dollars. I have band him from going in the grocery store with me because he can not control himself. lol.
@sizzle3000 (3036)
• United States
2 Nov 07
There are a lot of ways to save if you really want to or if you have the time. A lot of people say they do not have time to worry about coupons or rebates or even looking for sales. For the most part personal items can be bought for free or near free. Just last month at cvs I got four colgate max fress toothpast for free. I also bought adidas deodorant as well for free. CVS has their own rebate program called extra care bucks. This is money they give you back when you buy certain items. I am a member of Gather.com. Over there I list all the good deals at cvs, riteaid, and walgreens. There are other deals that I list but these are the main stores that make it easy to get items for free. There are also grocery stores that double coupons and some have rebate as well. Weis is a grocery store that has an in store rebate program. You can go to their web site to get more information there. Staples and office depot offer rebates as well so you can get your office supplies for free or close to free. There is a web site that does cost you a little called refundcents.com. This is a group of people that list all the good deals they found so that others can share in their good fortune. There are tons of ways to save money if you put your mind to it. My daughter picks on me by telling her friends that I can make a penny squeel. I have also written several articles on associated.com about how to use these programs. If you have any other questions or want specific questions answered feel fre to email me. I will help you in any way I can. have a great day.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
How do you keep your shopping trips to $10 to $20? I would love to learn your secrets. How often do you shop?
1 person likes this
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
17 Oct 07
I do spend alot more. My husband is the worst also. He just keeps throwing things in the cart. He is always telling me, it is a good price, get a couple more. I get to the register and find all kinds of things that I had not figured into the amount it was going to cost. It is crazy. My kids want all the junk things they can find also. When they go, I think I am the first to the checkout even if I was really not done shopping.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
That is like my family trips too. We went to but Transformers last night. It is on sale everywhere for $15. Nope my Hubby needed the box that transformed too. $10 more for a neat box. Then my kids needed playdough at $1 each. The trip was about double what it should have been.
1 person likes this
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
16 Oct 07
My husband is very focused when he grocery shops. He likes to compare prices, check to make sure we are getting the smallest package of meat, watch the sales, and in general, is hugely annoying to shop with. So I send him on his own. I swear it saves us money, he likes it, and it saves me time.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
I am he saver and my hubby is the one who buys the biggest most expensive pack of meat. I guess there is always someone who is better at shopping in every family.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
I try not to shop with him. When I get burned out on running the house alone I give in and take him along. I guess I could learn more discipline.
1 person likes this
@mari_skye (1637)
• Philippines
17 Oct 07
I do believe I share your problem. When we go grocery shopping, I can't help but roll my eyes when my fiance puts in something in the cart that I feel is really not necessary. Sometimes I can dissuade him but the rest of the times, he will enumerate all these reasons why we need the item and all I can do is to sigh. So sometimes, I when the things on my list are really not heavy, I would go to the grocery by myself. Saves me at least some money:P
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
I usualy shop durring the day when my son is at school and my Hubby is at work. I have 2 1/2 hours to get it all done. My daughter is 2 and she is pretty good at not asking for to much but she is learning fast.
@southernpixie (741)
• United States
17 Oct 07
Oh yeah, I definitely spend more when the hubby and kids tag along. My husband wants ice cream, the kids want cookies..etc. I don't buy a lot of junk food at all, but sometimes it's just easier to tell them yes than to argue lol.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
22 Oct 07
Exactly. Either fight in the store or let them feel good by letting them choose some icecream. I guess I should just work some tag along money into the budget.
@CinderInMySoul (4717)
• United States
17 Oct 07
oh i hate taking anybody else with me when i go grocery shopping!! i always have a list, and like you i want to get in and get the hell outta there asap!!
whenever i take my grandmother with me..instead of the shopping takeing oh 45 minutes or so..i end up spending a good 2 hours in there!!
lol..you and your husband have it backasswards!! i thought it was always the woman who bought magazines and other useless stuff in the cart, that the man didnt notice!!
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
My husband could spend his whole check in a matter of days and we would go woth out for the rest of the month. I control the money and it is better this way.
@chinkiejapanese (98)
• Philippines
17 Oct 07
Sometimes I spend more when my siblings are with me.Sometimes too i like to buy stuffs not for myself but for my family.Actually, almost 3/4ths of what I earn will go to my family and their needs and some splurges.I don't know why.But I guess that's because of our culture.We are so much attached to our families that we want to give them everything that they want even of it means not getting what you want for yourself.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
I understand doing for your family. We have one income, My hubbys, and that is all the cash we get to pay our bills. We spend most of it on necessities and when there is left over money most of it goes to the kids.
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
16 Oct 07
We have a set budget when we go shopping. I take the calculator with me and add it up as we go. When we hit the limit we are done. We are on a very strict budget right now. I spend around 40.00 a week on groceries and paper products.My daughter has learned no to ask for anything at the store. If there is money left when we hit the check out we let her pick a treat.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
We spend about $40 a week as well. I have $30 set aside incase we find a great stock up deal but other than that I am strict. My husband knows that I always have extra money so he never worries about spending it. I am a saver and he is a splurger.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
22 Oct 07
I think the men complain about the women spending but really if you do the math they have us beat by a long run.
@carol_m (709)
• Philippines
17 Oct 07
Honestly, when shopping together with my mom and sisters, I dont really mind if I spend more than what I had budgetted. It's a sort of my gift to them coz Im only at home on holidays. Fact is, I encourage them to make a list of the things they wanna buy inorder for me to know the extent of what my budget could buy. Really, I dont mind if the excess go up to around a thousand pesos.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
17 Oct 07
If we spend much over our budget ammount then we are using money that needs to go somewhere else. I need to pay all my bills so we keep it all undercontrol.
@shooting_star (384)
• Philippines
16 Oct 07
I always tag along when my mom goes to the grocery. I can control myself from getting stuff and I've learned not to take too much stuff for myself when we're shopping especially if I'm not paying. When my younger sister comes with us though, she tends to see some stuff that she likes (and we don't regularly get), so that adds to the bill.
I think your husband buys useless items because he gets bored easily. My dad's the one who pays for the groceries but he doesn't go around the store anymore because he gets bored. He just buys coffee or soda at a nearby fastfood then just waits for us to call him when we're done. That way he only spends on a drink, which isn't totally useless.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
16 Oct 07
It is good that you have learned that lesson. It will help you a lot when you are out shopping for you self. Control is hard to learn for some people.
@Ravenladyj (22902)
• United States
18 Oct 07
We dont even bother bringing the kids grocery shopping anymore because they are not only distracting but they end up wanting things that arent even on the list and I'm bad enough for that on my own I dont need two kids adding to it for me LOL
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
12 Nov 07
Yep, I tend to spend more when my family tags along. I almost always give in when my family goes with me, so it's best if I go alone. :P Luckily my kids are getting better when it comes to shopping with mom(thank goodness) or I think I'd be in the poorhouse by now. :P LOL
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
18 Oct 07
It never fails. I can tell the kids no on the extras that they want to purchase at the grocery store, but when my husband is there we spend way too much money. It usually is on junk too! It is like my husband is the biggest kid. My kids know that I will tell them no if they want something off the list, so when hubby is there too, they ask him. He always says yes. Well, all these little extras add up quickly.
@wiccania (3360)
• United States
18 Oct 07
I definitely spend less when I'm alone, but not by much as long as there's someone with me to help me occupy my son. If it's just the two of us, I get to a point where I start just grabbing something to get it done and get him home and calmed down. If I have someone else who can occupy him, I can take my time and look for exactly what I want.
With my ex husband it was the worst. We'd go grocery shopping every other week and the bill would be $250-300. When I went without him it was closer to $150-200. Because when he went with me he would load up the cart with little debbies, hostess snacks, chips, soda and candy. When I went without him I would get him 1 of each of those things, not 5 of each. He always grabbed so much because it was essentially all he ate. I've seen him eat an entire box of little debbie donut sticks for breakfast!
