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How Can I Help My Husband to Be More Frugal?

September 27, 2018 by jlpenner 4 Comments

It’s a story we’ve all heard or even experienced—you are ready to save money, live a more simple life, and enjoy being frugal, but your hubby isn’t on board. He fees restricted that you’re being unreasonable. Being on the same page financially is very important!

I am the saver and my husband Jon is the spender. In the end it has turned out to be a good balance for our family, but that doesn’t make it easy all the time.

Use these tips to help your husband become frugal and get on board with saving money!

Show him what he’ll get for his efforts

Figure out what matters to your husband and sell him the frugal dream using that motivation. Maybe he wants to upgrade to a nicer home someday, retire early, or travel around the world. Show him how making small changes now can make those dreams more probable.  In the past we have made lists of the things we are saving for.  This way he can see us reaching our goals.

Also read: Top 10 Habits of Frugal People

Start small

If you start by asking your husband to get rid of his cable, his nice gym membership, and his weekly nights out with his friends, you’re going to meet resistance. Ask for small changes at first—like downgrading the cable package slightly or not buying snacks at the gas station—before you ask for major changes. Make it easy by packing him those snacks yourself.  It’s a good compromise.

Don’t get frustrated if it takes time

Becoming frugal takes time and work. Expecting your husband to never slip up will make him want to give up and make you feel resentful. Respect and appreciate his efforts.

Let him indulge

Put enough room in your budget for your husband to enjoy life’s little pleasures—coffee on the way to work, the occasional fast food meal, whatever he enjoys. If he sees that he doesn’t have to give up everything, he may be more open to your changes.

Also read: Fun on a Budget: Little or No Money Can Equal a Ton of Family Fun

Make sure you’re sacrificing equally

If your honey thinks he’s giving up more than you are, he might be resistant to your ideas. If he has to stop going out with his friends but you keep your weekly manicures and dinner dates with friends (lol, even if you have a coupon!), it’s not going to seem fair. Sacrificing equally makes it easier to be a team.

Pair this with the Start Small and the Let Him Indulge tip.  Have a small budget for both of your little luxuries (which we all need btw).  This way you still get to indulge, maybe just not as often.

Have you successfully brought your husband over to the frugal side? What’s your favorite tip?

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Comments

  1. Janelle says

    March 7, 2015 at 12:53 pm

    These are great suggestions. After months of frustration of trying to make my husband not spend so much money, I finally gave him a specific budget. I told him he has $10 a week to spend on eating out or on extra things he wants. If he spends over $10 in one week, the difference will be deducted from the next week. It was not an easy process to establish this budget (I had to keep track of how much he had left and tell him some weeks that he had used up his money), but now he keeps track himself and sticks with it.
    Reply
  2. Vicky says

    April 9, 2015 at 9:09 am

    These are really great tips :) I think the most important one is 'don't get frustrated'. My husband was used to a much different lifestyle growing up and so what seems natural to him when it comes to grocery shopping, for example, seems ridiculous to me. We used to shop together but I started doing it alone to avoid buying all the name brand stuff. It seemed mean at first because the shopping had been done and what was bought was what he had to live with until he realized that there wasn't really any difference. There are a few things that I still get just for him like a package of Oreos or the Velveeta shells and cheese. They're some of his favorite things so I make room and we are both happier for it.
    Reply

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