christmas shopping...

jessandjimiswedding Posted: Oct 26, 2007 01:51 PM

christmas shopping...

how do i buy DH gifts w/o him knowing?? like, if there's money missing from our account or if there's a large amount of money charged on a credit card, how can i get away with him not knowing??

and even if i get a new credit card, he'll still know when the bill comes b/c he takes care of the bills...AND he gets home before me!

anyone else solve this problem yet??

Love4Eva Posted: Oct 26, 2007 01:55 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

maybe use cash?? If you cant use your debit card - if he sees your checking acct too.

And - if there is a large amt missing - just tell him ... i need XXX amt of money for your xmas gift!

I have my own checking and savings, and so does DH. Then we have a joint savings. It makes it easier for us to hide things, and we trust each other with our money - so there are no problems

Nina_m74 Posted: Oct 26, 2007 02:04 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

We have had shared finances for awhile now, the way we solved this was when we set our Christmas budget, we took the budgeted amount out of the bank all at once, divided it up and paid in cash.

MJDoc12 Posted: Oct 26, 2007 02:14 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

DH and i agree that if we buy each other something--the other has to say that the money was spent...but not where and when. like i KNOW he spent $$ for my bday gift....and i have to pretend i didn't figure out what he got it... (i found out already what it is, but i'm saving my 'surprised' face for that day)

angnick Posted: Oct 26, 2007 02:19 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

When it is time for dh to buy a present for me, he tells me not to look at the credit card bill until he tells me so.

jtgarsik Posted: Oct 26, 2007 02:41 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

hmm...i'd just cash ur checks from work & say ur using them for shopping. last year DH & i took out a set amount of cash & used it. other wise if he's gonna be looking at bills he'll see the stores u went to. so i'd either use cash, or tell him ur doing the bills untill christmas lol. after that, hide the gifts somewhere he'd never find lol.

LB and DC Posted: Oct 26, 2007 02:51 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

actually i have it easy - my parents have an amex card that they let me use to get point as long as i pay off the balance that month, so that is probably what i will do. if i didn't have that i would take the cash out of the account and just tell DH that it was for his christmas present.

AeroJenn Posted: Oct 26, 2007 03:02 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

DH and I set a christmas budget -- we can spend X amount on each other that year. I would use your ATM card and take out that amount of $$ from the bank, then just use the cash to buy his presents. No trail so he'll never know what you bought.

If you buy online and have to use a credit card, try asking a friend or family member to use thier card and give them the cash to pay the bill....that way DH will never see the bill so he wont know what you got him.

portjeffbride Posted: Oct 26, 2007 04:14 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

or you could buy it after the last bill was paid prior to christmas.... that way, it won't show up on the statement until the following month

rfilipofornow Posted: Oct 26, 2007 04:30 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

DH and I have separate credit cards solely for this reason! Even though we share bank accounts, I didn't want to know what I was getting for Christmas/birthdays, nor did he (not that he looks at our bank accounts or anything), so we decided not to open joint credit cards and just keep our old ones. He'll give me the bill after the holidays :)

PattyK Posted: Oct 26, 2007 05:43 PM

Re: christmas shopping...

Since we have joint finances and pay cash for everything. I have been putting money away for his christmas presents, without him even realizing that I am doing it.