How do you hide money from your DH?

[crisi]

And it doesn't matter if it's a store like Wal-Mart or a "mall store" like Sears or JcPenny. I've done it at the grocery store too! As long as it's something that is sealed and can be re-sold I don't worry about it! My sister used to do it with baby formula since it was more expensive! Her DH would never question how much she spent on something like formula!

Except it does cost the company money to process the return, which they then pass on to the rest of us as higher prices. My husband works in that industry, and there is a significant costs to returns that they are passing on to us. They are actively trying out how to lower their return rate to keep their costs (and therefore prices) down.

I'm not saying you should never return anything - but by returning things in this manner, you are costing ME (and yourself) money.

 

[missyc]

Ok, consider my hands slapped.
But it's not as if it's something I do everyday or anything!
It's my right to change my mind on a purchase, isn't it?!

 

[mum of two pirates]

I do the ING bank account and we have made over $290 off of them free money two me in the last 2 months, I love it. I have had a few friends sign up thier famileys and its easy money. the best part is it stays in the ing account and he never sees it. then we have combined ins. so everytime I take the boys to the chiropractor I only have to pay $10 (becouse they are under 18) and then the ins sends me $50. so I just added our yearly money for the boys to the accounts also. $300. so we have over $500 in there he doesn't know about. I also run the checkbook (wish i didn't) but so When he gives me his check I always take out $100 to keep for our trip. Then my "job" is babysitting a friends kids for $800 a month. I only have to do it 1-2 times a week. so I keep my money for extra stuff we need and then give him money the next week. in three months I have saved $2500 and have also put down the $1000 on our cruise so 3500. now that I have all that extra money saved and were not going for two more years I am thinking my kids will have to much spending money. lol. maybe we'll have to do 2 weeks at wdw instead of one? I want to be able to pay off everything (hotels, parkhoppers meal vouchers and plain tickets ) six months out. then save spending money for us. kids have thiers in thier I also never spend my change, I have over $130 in two months.

Mum of two

 

[crisi]

Originally posted by missyc
Ok, consider my hands slapped.
But it's not as if it's something I do everyday or anything!
It's my right to change my mind on a purchase, isn't it?!

Yep, and its in everyone's best interest to keep it that way. Its completely within the stores right to mark "all sales final" or "returns for defective merchandise only" or "a 10% restock fee will be charged on all non-defective returned merchandise" if its too problematic. As I know all those changes to policy have been discussed as possible solutions to the problem at my husband's company, I think we'd all rather be able to just return like we can now.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Originally posted by MamaCrush
I LOVE the buy something and then return it for cash. How positively devilish!

 

[grlpwrd]

Originally posted by MamaCrush
I love this thread!! I feel so evil...

I discovered this trick by accident. The grocery store I use has a frequent buyer card where they automatically deduct money saved on sale items from your grockery ticket. Well, once I forgot to give them my buyer card before I paid, and the cashiere told me to go to the customer service desk and they would give me the cash. (The bottom of the receipt says-- You Could Have saved x-amount if you had used the card). And they did it! No questions asked. I try not to abuse this, but do it about every other week or so-- especially if it's someone new at the customer service desk . But I stash this "found money" into a drawer for our upcoming cruise.

I can't wait to hear everyone elses secrets!

I don't understand this "trick." You're still getting the cash, but you're wasting your time and the employee's. I don't get it and how you return things for cash in your other post. Are those items purchased by your dh? Please explain... is it that you're getting the cash to add to your "change" jar without your dh knowing? Not flaming, but I don't understand the reasoning.

I guess it's all about comfort levels, priorities, and values... I don't dare to keep anything from my dh so I can't really relate unless it's a surprise trip. He and I know all about where our money goes and we make financial decisions together. .

ETA: I think it's about consequences, too. Thanks, crisi, for your posts. I've been a couponer for years and many people don't realize the ramifications of even a little overzealousness with coupon use and returns. We all eventually pay for it (abuse of coupons and returns). Walmart just changed their return policy (you need a receipt) so I'm not sure about doing this to get $$$... Target changed their policy, too.

 

[MamaCrush]

grlpwrd--

Say a grocery item cost 2.99. But if you present your "frequent shopper" card at the register, the item would only be 2.19. If I don't present my card at the register, I can take the card to the customer service desk and they will give me the amount I would have saved using the card in cash instead. And yes, it's a way of stashing suprise money from my DH. I pay at the register by check (or Disney Visa for the points since we pay the balance each month), and put away the cash they give me at the customer service desk into an envelope for our trip. It does add up-- especially since I make my grocery list according to what's on sale. And it really takes no time at all since I shop during off peak hours. Again, I don't do it each and every time I visit the grocery store, but it's a fun game between DH and I. He loves it when I suddenly have cash for our trip. I'm certainly not putting us in debt by doing this and the whole family benefits from my "trickery"!

I haven't done the buy things and then return them thing, but I believe what the original poster was talking about was to buy something extra-- shirt, jeans, box of diapers, etc., then return it back to the store for cash. Again, the original purchase comes out of the household budget account, but the refund money gets squirreled away for vacation. I probably wouldn't feel comfortable buying things for the sole purpose of returning them for cash, but I certainly will keep the cash from now on for things I return for "legitimate" reasons!

Different things work for different families/couples. After all, the money all comes from the same place, it's just a matter of how to creatively "budget" money for a family vacation.

 

[beattyfamily]

I also love ING for 'hiding' money from my hubby!!!

He has access to all our other accounts!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

HMMMM...I don't have to "hide" money from my DH. If there's something I want to suprise him with, I just do it. He already knows about ING, about the "float fund" in our checking account, and about our little savings jar at home.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by Tiggerlover91
HMMMM...I don't have to "hide" money from my DH. If there's something I want to suprise him with, I just do it. He already knows about ING, about the "float fund" in our checking account, and about our little savings jar at home.

I've got a big spender who has no concept of any part of the Disney planning and the costof it; he just shows up and after our trip wonders how it ended up costing so much. So I do hide some of our spending money. But he knows about my ING account. He just can't get to it and it doesn't bother him in the least.

 

[BethR]

You know, I should have posted when this thread first started that I could have predicted that it would get catty. Sad but true, Ladies, we can just be nasty with each other.

Let's think before we post. Let's put the claws away and keep this thread purring along...

 

[crisi]

BethR,

I'm sorry if you have interpreted anything I've said as catty. It certainly hasn't been meant that way, and I'm not reading cattiness in other posts either. Seems we are having a reasonable adult conversation, including the downsides to some of the techniques being discussed.

 

[HenDuck]

My husband won't open any mail, not even his own mail. He doesn't know how much we spend on anything. He only looks at the budget when he is FORCED to.

It's so easy to "hide" money from him because he never really looks for it anyway.

Actually, we have so many bank accounts, mine, his, ours, ours with DS, that I don't think he could find any hidden money even if he tried!

I guess I'm lucky in that sense(?)

Hahaha...

 

[BethR]

Originally posted by crisi
BethR,

I'm sorry if you have interpreted anything I've said as catty.

Not to worry, Crisi. You (and everyone else) were fine. Perhaps I was a bit strong in what I had posted. It was just a kind of warning. I felt that the "tone" of the thread was beginning to turn, and I was just trying to prevent it from going bad.

Thought that I was being clever. Perhaps not...

 

[missyc]

My parents are kinda funny. They started out with just my dad working for years, then about 20 years ago my mom worked while dad went to school. Then they both worked up until dad retired less than a year ago. They have plenty of money, even w/dad retired. The problem is my mom never stops spending. Dad does all the bills and balances the checkbook. Mom just writes checks! She continuosly overdraws the account. Dad just stopped entering his pension checks into the ledger. Mom has no idea that there is extra money in the account. Dad calls this his "slush fund". He has no choice but to do this as mom would just keep writing checks even if she saw the negative balance in the checkbook. He's not lying or cheating, just trying to save himself (and her) all those overdraft fees.

 

[canwegosoon]

Depending on how closely he looks at the bills, you could buy a Gift Cert for the Mall (saying it's a gift(for your family), or maybe nothing, if he doesn't ask), then you can take the Gift Cert, and go to the Disney store and buy disney dollars . You could get you food money and Hotel too this way. If you are used to shopping there on a frequent basis, I guess you could always just add on a few disney dollars to your bill. But what about saying to your husband..."I want to do something nice for the family, and I would really appericiate 50-100 a month for this item, but please don't ask me about it, because I would like it to be a suprise. " My Husband teaches online for his own mad money. Also when ever a bank in my area is having a special for opening new accounts (last month it was a hundered dollars) I try to open an account. The ING is a similar idea, and the grocery and change are tried and true methods. Sometimes you could loose $10 or $20 (you know like leaving it in a pocket). Good luck.

 

[hookedup]

This is something that I have considered recently. It has now been 3+ mos in becoming a SAHM. I used to make more than twice what dh made and so I never had to think about stashing cash.
Now since we are on a very strict budget he, rightfully so, watches every single nickel and dime. There is NOTHING that is spent in our house that doesn't go under scrutiny.
He is great about money and he is much more responsible about it than I have ever been.
But with his birthday and our WDW trip coming up I have wished I had a small secret stash to buy him some surprises!!

 

[hellow]

HenDuck:

I had to laugh when I saw your post. We could be married to the same guy. I sometimes worry about what he would do if I got in an accident or something and he had to take over the budget. (He calls me to ask how much money he makes in his paycheck )

I finally made a summary of all the bills we pay, and where the money comes from, and showed him where it is in case he has to do the bills. He said "OK" and happily wandered off leaving me to continue on....

When I hide money, it is usually from myself. I have a savings account with the credit union where I work. I have a set amount deposited each paycheck so I don't have easy access to spend it, and I use it as my vacation savings. (Not very creative, I know.)