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Significant other, iPhone and other gadgets

I'm not married, but my roommate went crazy (literally -- to the nut house), and I am stuck with the rent by myself. My parents have blessed me with money, so I certainly did NOT want my mom to know that I splurged on an iPhone. But she not only visited me on iDay when I had to make an excuse for leaving for hours...to wait in line (lol), she also asked to use my phone...dang. So I 'fessed up, but she was cool about it. She wouldn't even know about an iPhone nor the cost were it not on the news.

I can't say what to do in a marriage when it's a shared income. You might feel the same if she chose to slap the card down on clothes or something that you don't find important. But maybe there should be an allowance for a married couple to buy fun things. This is a Dr. Phil question.
 
damado said:
Before I get married, gadget-buying-on-a-whim will be something my future wife will be made very clear of before walking down the isle so that there's no misunderstandings later hehe.

I buy gadgets and she'll need to accept that if she accepts me....man I'm going to be single forever lol...
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Noumenon said:
Bribe her. When your married and want a toy, you have to spend twice as much for it,... $600 for her $600 for you :eek: :D
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Theses two post are the truth. That is how I got mine :D.
 
My wife made me buy one, LOL. After dragging her to the mall twice to check one out in person, she said she'd be supremely pissed if I left without buying one. What's a guy to do? :D

(posted on my iPhone)
 
I feel for whomever I might get with... probably one of us will always get the Rev. A and the other a later rev. Such a difficult choice in life, get the goodies first, or wait for the next one. :D That said, I hope that we both make decent money or gadget-buying will have to be prioritized, I mean, I guess eating is semi-important.
 
I bought one on iDay.
My wife was traveling on business and the day she got home we went to the Apple Store and got her one.

No rivalry here :)
 
I was thinking about getting one for myself but was very hesitant.
The wife was ok about getting one.
Then, on 4th of July my wife's cell phone gave up completely.
We went to the mall and looked at all the different smartphones from AT&T.
Then we walk into the Apple store and now she wants one herself.:mad:
Of course since hers is broken she's going to get one first.
But they were sold out and now we're still waiting.
The wife has been using an ancient unlocked Nokia phone since then.
 
Take her to the apple store and show it to her. Let her play with it. She'll fall in love with it. My wife said NO for the longest time, and as soon as she played with it, we were on a wild goose chase most of the week to find us some! We got both of us an iphone, and we're both very happy!

Good Luck!
 
maybe that is what i need to do, just go out and buy one. however, i feel that since we are both working that our incomes benefit one another. i just would feel bad if i got it without her knowing that i was going to spend that amount of money.
 
I would divorce her.

My co-worker destroyed her screen on her brand new Mac Book with this cleaning fluid that was not meant for that screen.

It looks so horrible and I told her if I was her husband I would of divorced her.

She thought it was pretty funny because her real husband is a huge mac fan and probably would of felt the same.
 
ToddW said:
With all this hype going on about the iPhone, I decided maybe I would get one. After a week of reading and thinking this would be the only thing I would have to carry with me that would replace my treo and iPod I decided this might be a good thing. So I find some stock locally in my area and call up the wife and say hey I think I'm going to get one of those iPhones, do you mind? Well she did mind and was really pissed. Granted I was going to just throw it on the old credit card and pay it off in the next few months like I normally do, mainly cause I could get some no interest purchases on some items with my credit card. She went on this speech about how I have to many gadgets I don't need a new phone, I just got the mac book pro, which was six months ago. I tried to explain to her that this would be something that would help me out a little bit more efficiently. But she just got mad. Frankly I just needed to vent and thought this would be a good topic for other folks as well.

It is not that I couldn't afford the iPhone, it isn't a money issue, but she is just not going to work with me on getting it. Not sure what her problem is on this. I don't really buy a lot of stuff, except for the occassional CD and the only time I really purchase anything is when it is something better. I just don't understand her on this one.

Anyone got any ideas? Thanks for reading just needed to vent on this topic.
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Upgrade to Wife 2.0.

Seriously, don't you guys have a budget allocated where each of you gets a certain amount of money each month to spend on something you want? If so, use your portion to buy the iPhone.

Does she spend hers on shoes and shopping?
 
Ask her what she wants. Get it for her. Get yourself an iPhone. The end...maybe


Luckily my girlfriend is in love with the iPhone and wants me to get her one...luckily :eek:
 
zgh1999 said:
Be a Man.

Just go out and buy it.
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Damn straight. Who is she to tell you that you have "too many gadgets"? Besides, aren't you trying to effectively reduce the number of gadgets?

Bottom line, it's your money, it's your decision to make. If she doesn't like it, too bad.


Sorry to sound so harsh, but I don't like women that think they can just say "no" to things like this. Sometimes my girlfriend tries to pull the old "you don't need that" crap. I just buy it anyway and more than half the time she ends up using it all the time and wanting one of her own.
 
someguy said:
Bottom line, it's your money, it's your decision to make. If she doesn't like it, too bad.
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I can't speak for the OP, but I think it's fair to say that quite a few marriages involve shared accounts. Shared bills. And if there are kids? Makes it that much more complicated, so yeah, a $2K product+contract isn't just any ol' thing to sniff at.
 
devilot said:
I can't speak for the OP, but I think it's fair to say that quite a few marriages involve shared accounts. Shared bills. And if there are kids? Makes it that much more complicated, so yeah, a $2K product+contract isn't just any ol' thing to sniff at.
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Neither of us can speak for the OP, but it seems to me he's already spoken on this point in his first post when he said "it's not a money issue".

If it's not a money issue, then she has no right to say he can't buy an iPhone. I would agree if they were struggling and he wanted to blow what little savings they had on something like this, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
devilot said:
I can't speak for the OP, but I think it's fair to say that quite a few marriages involve shared accounts. Shared bills. And if there are kids? Makes it that much more complicated, so yeah, a $2K product+contract isn't just any ol' thing to sniff at.
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I have a problem with this 2K figure that keeps getting bandied about. Sure, if you've never had a cellphone plan then yes, you're looking at 2 grand. If you already have a cellphone, the number is much smaller. Other than the iPhone, I'm paying $480 over the next 2 years for my new data plan. A friend of mine will end up spending less money per month because the iPhone data plan is so reasonably priced compared to his current plan.
 
Mine cost me a new coach purse for the wife, $400 purse for her, greatest phone ever for me ........fair trade I think.:cool:
 
Just go take her out to the movies, a nice and romantic restaurant come home have a little romance, you know spend some real quality time with her and then ask her again.
I bet she'll say yes.
Oh make sure you buy her something nice but not to expensive, something she has interest in or a piece of jewelry.
Works with my wife every time :D
Woman like to feel special and appreciated.
 
This might be OT...

someguy said:
Neither of us can speak for the OP, but it seems to me he's already spoken on this point in his first post when he said "it's not a money issue".
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*re-reads OP* Ah yes. Heh. Maybe she does just want something fun for herself, then? :eek:

PBG4 Dude said:
I have a problem with this 2K figure that keeps getting bandied about. Sure, if you've never had a cellphone plan then yes, you're looking at 2 grand.
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No, other plans don't cost $60 a month. Nor do most other phones cost upwards of $300 when linked with firm 2-year contracts.

Yes other smart phones are not cheap, but they're also not necessarily as pricey and without any form of rebate and let's face it, not everyone uses or wants a smart phone. But the iPhone? Has a great deal of appeal for even non-smart phone users*. And as such, you get non-businessy, non-smart phone using customers who are now interested in a phone/ device that has a pricier tag even when considering other smart phones and so yes, the price comparison of non-smart phone to smart isn't all that fair, but it's what's happening and what is bound to keep on happening.


*I'd know, I've got me some serious iPhone-lust and I've no real need for all the features. Hell, until 2007, I'd sent out approximately five text messages despite having owned and used a cell phone for a decade. :p
 
Saying "it's not a money issue" just means the money exists, but if it's in a joint account, then I think the wife does get some say in how it's spent. Especially if she's working too. It's a lot less clear whose money is whose at that point. To her, it's $600 for a toy, when I bet you flip out if she wants something that costs $600 just on a whim.

I'm sorry, but I think she gets a say. You don't have to listen to it, but it's respectful to at least consider her opinion. How about talking about it with her, instead of assuming she's trying to spite you by never letting you have every new thing you want? If you still think that's what she's doing, fine, buy it, but then you're just doing it to spite her because you think she's trying to spite you and that's just kind of dumb.
 
It might not be a money issue, but money is not abundant! $600 is a lot of money - money that the wife may think is better off on a house/mortgage or upgrading the kitchen etc etc.

I'm a bloke, and I do purchase what I want, but when it's both your money sitting in the account, it's down to diplomacy.

Me and my girlfriend for example are saving for a house. She pays the rent in her place, and I put an equal amount into savings so we're even (its a joint account so it really is even). I woudn't dream of splashing out on a new laptop or something without getting her feelings first.

Of course, if you really want it, buy it.

But a phone is easily replaceable. A wife is not!
 
oogje said:
If it isn't a money issue then it's something more personal between you and your wife. Put yourself in her head and see if you can understand why she feels you have too many gadgets. Does she think you get more pleasure from your gadgets than you do from your relationship with her? Reassure her that you have your priorities straight, from her perspective (if you do).
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I think oogje hit it on the head... at least from my experience. My girlfriend in college would have gone ape if I would have bought my iPhone for that reason, she always felt like she was competing for attention with the computer/gadgets (which, of course, in hindsight - she was). I think if it's not an issue of money, it boils down to the relationship.

And all of you who say upgrade to Wife 2.0 must be single. I think you would gladly drop all your gadgets for the right person... or you would get to keep them. But that's another argument altogether.
 
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