“Claudia, when did you get that handbag, how much did it cost!?”
“What are you talking about, Honey, I’ve had this for months!”
Are you Claudia? Are you constantly buying, feeling guilty and then lying to your spouse? Well, to be honest, most of us do it, so I won’t judge you. Instead of judging you, I will help you in your quest of hide and no seek.
First we should ask ourselves why we feel so guilty about our purchases. Do we deserve them? Do we earn enough to pay for them ourselves? Can we pay our rent after the purchase? If you answered no to all of those questions, put the credit card down, Claudia and back away from the store. However, if you answered yes to those questions, then why not? If your family can still eat for the week and you aren’t saving for something vital, then why can’t we treat ourselves?
So you’ve gone out, you’ve bought the dress, the handbag and the matching lipstick. How are you going to hide these purchases?
- Get rid of the bag from the store, and instead try putting the items in an old plastic supermarket bag - this will make it seem as though you have had them for a long time and had left them at work, or that you had brought them at the Salvation Army for $7.
- Hide your receipts in a place your partner won’t look - in a file at work or the bottom of your makeup draw.
- Buy them a present also. This will take the light off you and make them feel special - you could also say you were given a discount off your purchase because you’d bought something for them at the same time.
Or, the all time, no fail trick of the trade is this line:
“I’ve had this for so long! That shows how often you take notice of me! Do you think I am not attractive anymore? Oh gosh I feel so dowdy!” (etc, etc)
This line will bring on apology after apology followed by dinner out and possibly a new pair of shoes for you.
