Does your wife enforce a limit on guns & ammo purchasing?

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StainlessSteel215

Moderator
Some of you are lucky enough to share this amazing hobby/sport/collection with your wives and girlfriends. Let me tell ya you folks are LUCKY!

As for mine, she is still afraid of guns but slowly breaking down and willing to come with me on a range trip some day. Ill keep working on her but I digress....

She made me promise to come up with a reasonable limit to my gun purchases & collection (right now its only 4) until money is flowing a bit more freely. We are both middle income people on a budget with a young baby. Fine, the dude abides.

So we finally negotiated for at least the next couple years on a 5 hand gun max. Right now I have 3.....slowly working up towards my next one most likely a compact 45 acp. And in terms of ammo, she tells me that once my medium sized safe is full....thats it. No more ammo. Right now its about half full with roughly 1000 rounds of mixed calibers.

I just wish I had an extra $10k to spend on guns, I would be happy! ;)
 
Exactly! If I lied to her and stockpiled somewhere else and she HAPPENED to catch me....I'd rather smash my head into a brick wall than endure the cold stare and all the other verbal and mental punishment that would draw out for weeks lol
 
yes, if you count passive-aggressive mind games I have learned over the years not to test
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What he said - the kicker was when she was drooling over a $2,000 engagement ring. I managed to hold out and resist, until it was pointed out just how much I had spent on my "hobby" during the 2 years we have been together.
 
She made me promise to come up with a reasonable limit to my gun purchases & collection (right now its only 4) until money is flowing a bit more freely. We are both middle income people on a budget with a young baby. Fine, the dude abides.
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I think your wife is correct, especially with a baby in the house. I'm in a similar situation. My wife is currently 4 months pregnant and we're middle income as well. I have a pretty decent sized chunk of cash set aside in savings to serve as the baby fund but I'm not going on a spending spree either with guns. my wife isn't a big fan of firearms and rolls her eyes everytime I mention wanting a new gun. Right now our baby is more important that my hobby, so I continue to save our money. with that said, I do maintain a paypal account and was thinking of funding any and all gun purchases through that, meaning I would sell stuff to buy guns I want. as long as i'm not spending money from our savings account I think my wife might be ok with it.
 
Gaseous thats a great idea. I also just titghened up our budget and trimmed some of the fat such as an unused gym membership, re-financed the house and cars, packing lunch instead of buying, etc.

I was also just thinking of a "spring cleaning" of stuff that I could sell on Ebay....I LOVE the PayPal idea and it would also encourage me to bring in some extra freelance work (I do graphic design on the side) to finance "extras" including my next .45 purchase. That way, I can leave my credit card and checkin accounts alone!
 
If your income is limited so that you all have to worry about keeping the bills paid, and especially with small kids in the house, I think your wife has a say in the matter for sure.

In my case, both my wife and I are employed, most of our major debts are gone, and we have some disposable income. She has her hobbies, and I have mine. We don't get in each other's way.

It all depends on where you are in your lives.
 
Gaseous thats a great idea. I also just titghened up our budget and trimmed some of the fat such as an unused gym membership, re-financed the house and cars, packing lunch instead of buying, etc.

I was also just thinking of a "spring cleaning" of stuff that I could sell on Ebay....I LOVE the PayPal idea and it would also encourage me to bring in some extra freelance work (I do graphic design on the side) to finance "extras" including my next .45 purchase. That way, I can leave my credit card and checkin accounts alone!
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the paypal idea is worth mentioning to your wife. if she's ok with it then i'd say you're golden. the thing you'll have to be careful of are those pesky impulse purchases. you may see something you want for whatever reason but not have enough in your paypal account to fund the purchase, and then you might dip into your personal account. as long as you avoid these impulse purchases and only buy what you can afford then I see no problem with going this route. but, you'll have to convince your wife first.

as a side note, i'm a fiscal conservative and am pretty tight with my money. I don't believe in negative cash flow and spending money I don't have (ie.credit cards) or squandering what I do have. I'm always amazed reading some of the threads on this forum. It seems like as soon as someone gets cash in their hands they run out and blow it on guns. Sure, if you're financially secure this isn't a problem but when some of us live paycheck to paycheck it strikes me as foolish. My wife and I save about 30% of our monthly income and put it into savings. I also do a lot of shopping at thrift stores and try to save money when and where I can. it's good that you've tightened your budget and are at least taking financial responsibility.
 
In my case, both my wife and I are employed, most of our major debts are gone, and we have some disposable income. She has her hobbies, and I have mine. We don't get in each other's way.
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All of that, plus we've always maintained separate bank accounts. I don't tell her what to do with her money, and she doesn't tell me what to do with mine. It won't work for everyone, but it sure works for us.
 
Sparks1957 said:
If your income is limited so that you all have to worry about keeping the bills paid, and especially with small kids in the house, I think your wife has a say in the matter for sure.

In my case, both my wife and I are employed, most of our major debts are gone, and we have some disposable income. She has her hobbies, and I have mine. We don't get in each other's way.
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^this^

Marriage is a tricky thing. Got to have respect and keep things balanced. Husbands and wives need to correct each other when wrong but give leeway as well when appropriate.

None of us know what's right for you and yours but it is all about communication and respect.

For me its not a hobby but more of a set of tools. That helps keep me in line. I can justify what I have as needs/potential needs and I have very few of the wants. And that's OK.

That's why I don't have an M1A...but I sure do want one.
 
Haaa this is great feedback from guys who've been there & done it. Thanks fellas...you basically just confirmed what I already knew but wanted to hear from others who abide by wife's rules!

By the way I'm counting the day that a monster credit card that I racked up in college will be finally paid off...and that day is very soon ;)

Its all about finding that middle ground and compromise
 
im lucky enough to have my house paid for all my vehicles paid for....no cc no nuthing as far as debt goes. pay cash or check for every thing. wife dont work other then in home day care and take care of kids....guess i said that wrong she dont get paid much lol. but she still gives me a look when i bring in a new gun and gripes just a little but when shes done she just shakes her head laughs and says dont know what im gonna do with you lol
 
I am of the opinion that each partner in a marriage should have a budget, proportional to the combined income, to do with as they please. If shooting is your hobby, there may be times when you choose to spend less on ammo and range fees and save for a new pistol. Your choice. And she has the same amount to pursue her hobbies, or fill her closet with shoes, or to save towards a big splurge of her own.
 
Trust, share and bribe the judge.

As for mine, she is still afraid of guns but slowly breaking down and willing to come with me on a range trip some day. Ill keep working on her but I digress....
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As in so many things, in a relationship, it all comes down to a matter of trust. Any limits that I might have are strictly a matter of money. When I come home from a GunShow, she always asks me what I bought. If I buy nothing, she gets slightly disappointed. If I buy something, she always wants to see it and have me explain what it is. If I sell something, she gets a bit upset. Doesn't hurt that every once in awhile, I have the opertunity to slip her a Ben Franklin. She likes to collect them.... :)

If I'm going to share the wealth, it's going to be with my spouse and kids. ..:D


Be Safe !!!
 
Ill say that if i brought home more than the usual amount within a certain time period my wife will get upset sure because of the $$$ bet on it, but Ill also say that she does not limit me, my pocketbook vs my responsibilities kids and such however, do. Im usually limited to about one new gun a year although ill admit this year has been a bit more active for me.
 
A gun a year sounds pretty reasonable...I like that. I may try to pitch that one later. After all, they are an investment so its really investing value to an extent....

And by the time I'm 65 I could potentially have 40 firearms :)
 
"Does your wife..."

Mine TRIES to. Been trying for fifty years - must be a mental tattoo or something. Sometime when you're at the range, BS'ing with just the guys, ask the older ones about "critical mass." We old farts have a code relative to inventory and "apparent-price" management.
 
I'm the only one working at my house...she is a stay at home Mom...its easy for me to "manage" the situation because of how I get paid (truck driver, direct deposit, paycheck summary via email)...she never knows how much I get paid.

I give her a set amount every week...a "budget" that we worked out together to cover her and my sons wants and needs.

As long as she gets her share every week (its a nice share) and I pay the bills...I can buy all the toys I want.

My annual "fun" budget is around $3,000 a year (used to be more...had to cut back in 2008)...that has to cover guns, reloading stuff, hunting stuff...you know, all the fun stuff.

As has been said...where wives are concerned...its wise to work with them, not against them...some are easier to work with than others (I got it right the 2nd time)

EDIT: And if you want a woman to let you manage the bills without her ever asking any questions (this goes against their nature)...you first have to prove that you're good at it and have your priorities in line.
 
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