Purchase Points

Recently I wore a dress that John liked, and he asked aloud, “Is that new?” Honestly, it wasn’t. I had worn it prior when he wasn’t with me. However, if it had been new, if I had put in on the credit card or paid cash, it wouldn’t have mattered. In our marriage, we trust the other with those decisions. Keeping purchases a secret is not a behavior that we engage in nor encourage. In your Great Marriage, can you say the same?

Ask yourself the following:

• In your marriage, do you regularly hide, downplay, or lie about purchases?

• Do you delay wearing or using an item for fear that you’ll have to explain how, when, and where it was purchased?

• Do you change the details of a story to conceal a purchase?

• Do you camouflage purchases in the grocery bill or have friends place an Amazon order for you?

• Do you have a store credit card that your spouse does not know about?

• When it comes to purchases, do you find yourself thinking, “It’s not their business, it’s my money.”

How you answer these questions, and similar ones can tell a lot about your relationship. Purchasing schemes can be a trapdoor to some unsavory practices within your marriage.