Participated in a "straw" purchase today...

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Hiding expenditures from one's spouse hardly engenders trust - is absolutely not conducive to a good relationship.


Exactly. In many instances I've witnessed, It seems almost like a badge of honor to some folks to keep those secrets from their spouse. It instills a form of misguided pride for them, knowing they pulled something over on them. Similar to how a poacher gets a thrill from shooting an animal and getting away with it.
 
My bride and I of over 40 years have a certain amount set that either can get what they want. If it is over that then we talk about it. I just can’t imagine having to hide something like the OP neighbour is.
 
Pat McManus of Field and Stream had some suggestions....

The infinitely expandable gun cabinet. Got a new gun? Crank the cabinet out another notch. "See, honey. Three empty slots, just like always."

The other was a reliable friend, who would take delivery of the firearm, and then bring it to your house, thanking you profusely for loaning it to him. Problem was, sometimes you'd never see the friend again.

In my case, my wife and I each get a chunk of spending money every month, to do with as we please. That's where my firearm purchases come from. And she won't let me sell any. It gives her a sense of security to have abundant firearms in the house, including a those in a safe in her sewing room.
 
^^^This. Kinda how it's supposed to work. Sometimes my wife rolls her eyes when I come home with a new firearm, but she trusts me enough to know that I won't spend monies we don't have. In my experience, those folks that keep money secrets from their spouse, keep other secrets as well and things generally don't last long.
^^^Exactly.
I have kind of a "fascination" with knives, and I have a lot of them. And while my wife doesn't exactly "roll" her eyes when a new knife arrives in the mail, she does get a certain little smile on her face that I recognize.
That's okay though. I probably get the same little smile on my face every time she's looking at a new concealed carry purse. She already has a closet half full of concealed carry purses - one to go with every outfit she imagines herself wearing sometime, I suppose. ;)
Nevertheless, we have a joint credit card, a joint checking account and joint savings accounts. Our vehicles are registered in both of our names, and we used to have a joint mortgage.
Yesterday morning our lawnmower (which we both use) blew its transmission. Same old story - it's going to cost more to fix than the mower is worth. So, my wife AND I went shopping for a new mower. I think we're going to get a riding mower this time. We're both getting too darned old to walk behind a mower nowadays - even if it's self-propelled. Whatever we get, it will be a joint decision. :thumbup:
 
I just can’t imagine having to hide something like the OP neighbour is.

....and I can't imagine getting involved in a scenario like the OP did. If the spouse finds out, odds are she will be madder and mad longer towards the OP than she will be at her husband. Unless one wants to jeopardize any kind of friendly neighbor relationship, involving yourself in intentionally deceiving a neighbor's wife is not leading to a good place(unless it involves a surprise for her). I would wonder what's next?
 
Pat McManus of Field and Stream had some suggestions....

The infinitely expandable gun cabinet. Got a new gun? Crank the cabinet out another notch. "See, honey. Three empty slots, just like always."
Pat McManus was a great writer, and I miss him. However, his situation wasn't the same as mine. My wife is as into guns, hunting and shooting as I am, and our gunsafes are full, we don't have room in this house for any more gunsafes, and we're too danged old to be thinking about buying a bigger house and moving. ;)
 
his wife is the local mail carrier.

I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but USPS has a service, which, I believe is free, that scans the mailing label of every item delivered to your home and emails the image to your inbox. Every. Single. Item.

Also, I'm not sure if you guys are aware of this, but the UPS Store has a service, which costs $5 every time, where they will accept your package and hold it for you to pick up.
 
Wif knows when I get something, usually.
She buys sewing, crafting, quilting crap. I usually know when she gets something new.

The situation of Odumbo elected and the Pedo, it is easier to "buy as investment".

Showing a couple of GunBroker postings vs what I am buying; makes it easier to justify.
 
My last wife (don't ask) divorced me about twelve years ago.
Haven't replaced her.
Don't have a girlfriend or ladyfriend or sweetie. (Was rather flattered when a girl in the throes of puberty thought I was suitable for conversation - and she smiled a lot.)
Don't plan on it.
Window shop discretely from across the street.
Have a cat. Tom cat. As long as I bring home the food he likes, he's okay with 'things'.
 
Has anyone else heard of such a thing?
12 years of semi-blissful tolerance? Absolutely and quite often. I regularly have items sent to the shop Instead of home so A: I don't have to explain what it is and why I need it and B: To avoid questions like "how much did it cost? Where'd the money come from since it didn't come from our checking account?"

We've never seen eye-to-eye on the firearms hobby. She's come a long way, but not blindly supportive quite yet. If I can't have her blind support, I'll settle for oblivious support. Some folks consider omission of facts the same as lying but I don't. I consider it picking my battles.
 
An ammo can, among several others where "She" seldom treads (she has no gun interest), makes a good Piggy Bank for the husband.

The bizarre factor is - how did the cash get inside?

Context: I have absolutely no idea what she spends on shoes, but she sends most of them back, whether to Zappo's or such.

Married 29 years. If we lived 'on the edge', then we Would discuss every shoe, case of ammo.....ACH=full]1090329[/ATTACH]
 

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I had a gun-ammo-reloading equipment buying proclivity long before I met my wife.

It has ebbed and flowed as as our financial abilities allowed. I have bought four guns a month, and Ive bought one gun every four months as $$ allows.

I still have that proclivity, and after 19 years I still have my wife. She knew it going in, so it is no shock to her when i buy another one.

Be up front early and life just works out. :)

Stay safe.
 
It has ebbed and flowed as as our financial abilities allowed.

That's the key, right there. Some say "pick your battles;" I say "set your priorities." If your wife, family, and home are your priority (and mine hasn't always been) then most things work out.

I knew a guy who made his living dealing in guns. He said some guys will skip rent and utility payments or skim from the food budget to buy gun related stuff. smh
 
That's the key, right there. Some say "pick your battles;" I say "set your priorities." If your wife, family, and home are your priority (and mine hasn't always been) then most things work out.

I knew a guy who made his living dealing in guns. He said some guys will skip rent and utility payments or skim from the food budget to buy gun related stuff. smh
Misplaced priorities are often a harbinger of marital strife. Folks who put wants above needs are ultimately doomed to experience an expensive failure.

I have spent an awful lot on gun-related stuff over the past 35 years, but in my early-adult years I have also had to sell guns to provide me enough $$ to pay rent, buy food and buy time to get back on my feet. Living in my failing car wasn’t all that appealing when it meant sleeping in the back seat with a few firearms.. no matter how sentimental those guns were.

I hate to sound all high and mighty, as I certainly don’t walk on water, but those who put material wants (or gambling, dope, booze, extramarital floozies, etc.) over the needs of their home, kids & spouse, etc. deserve the pain that follows.

Stay safe.
 
I know a guy(lets call him Dan) who is single, retired, lives alone, and refuses to buy anything online. He's worried about being "tracked". Does he get Social Security? Yes. Does he own the house he lives in and pays taxes on? Yes. Does he have a driver's license and a car registered to him? Yes. Does he get a pension check every month? Yes again. Does he have an electric bill, a gas bill, and a water bill? Yes, yes, yes. His info is easily found....online. He smokes a ton, yet believes an order of fries will kill him.

Why "they" would care at all about a 69 year old doofus, and have any trouble finding info out about him? I don't know, but he has his neighbors buy him all kinds of stuff online. It doesn't matter what is! He gives them cash, and they order it. A while back, he wanted to buy a gun. He finally found one at a LGS and that went fine, until he wanted ammo, and the guy he usually has order his stuff went to the hospital for a lot of reasons and was unavailable to order 9mm online for him. That's when I got called.

Him: Hey, can you buy me some ammo?
Me: Why do you need to have me buy it? You have money, go to the store and buy it (He knows several places that have what he wants in stock).
Him: I don't want anyone to know I bought it.
Me: Why? Who would possibly care about you buying ammo?
Him: I just don't want anyone to know it's for me.
Me: Why are you so paranoid? Nobody cares about you, except your family and friends. If you get into your car and drive over to the store, nobody who knows you will know about you buying ammo, and who cares if the sales person does?
Him: So you won't buy it for me?
Me: I'll sell you all you want for say....$25 a box. (I paid like $7.99 a box a few years ago for it, and stocked up)
Him: Silence.
Me: How many boxes do you want?
Him: I'm being serious here.
Me: No, you're being paranoid and just ridiculous.
Him: Why won't you buy it for me?
Me: Because you can buy your own..."Stuff"!
Him:Thanks for nothing. Click.

That was over a month ago. The guy who normally buys the stuff told me he still hasn't bought any ammo, because he's decided that he can buy his own.

What makes people like "Dan" the way they are?
 
My wife does the budget, and balances the books. There is no hiding of funds from her. Besides, it’s bad business to hide things. And no begging “mother may I” either. I get what I want when I want, like the new truck outside. Used ones just too expensive.
 
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