Do men and women influence each others shopping habits?
HE SAYS SHE SAYS WHILE SHOPPING
Do men and women influence each others shopping habits?
You bet they do and if you don’t agree next time you are out with your significant other keep your ears and eyes open and listen to the both of you talk.
I’ve noticed during our shopping trips out, whether it be for food or not that we as a couple tend to influence each other when purchasing items.
You’re probably going to say that real men go to the bar and watch hockey games while the women go out clothes shopping. The thing is, I love taking my wife out clothes shopping, picking out items for her to try on and let her know my honest opinion as to whether it’s just a try or a definite buy.
Buying clothes
We certainly swap roles when I walk round various shops looking for clothes. My wife takes on the role of picking out and then placing her statement of approval or not as the case may be on each item.
Buying clothes on your own can be a little unrewarding because you only see what you want to see. Your partner should always be there to help out and give advice, it gives you a quality second opinion from a different point of view. As long as we feel good in what we are buying and we both agree that we look good in the clothes then it makes the decision a bit easier.
We both want each other to look good in the clothes that we wear so why wouldn’t we give each other an honest opinion? We both accept each others opinions and if we don’t like something on each other, we say it. It also brings us closer together.
How many of you cringe out there when your husband or wife ask you how they look in an outfit just before you are heading out to a gala or even on a romantic date at a restaurant? You are worried that if you say the wrong thing you might ruin the night. Not us. That’s right… this way everything looks hot on your spouse and you are both happy together.
Besides, it’s fun hanging out in change rooms and trying on clothes as it brings a special romantic touch with fun and play into the relationship.
This train of thought however is not completely fool-proof.
Having seen what some couples buy, I do question the validity of my own statement, as it seems that some people just don’t have any sense of dress at all. Then again not everyone has the same style as the next person. What looks good on one person doesn’t necessarily mean it will look great on another. Alternatively what you believe is sexy might not be sexy to someone else.
In the end it’s about being confident and comfortable in the clothes you are in. Some relationships aren’t balanced 50/50 which leads to a dominance on one side and those people tend to be the main influencers.
Grocery shopping
There are other scenarios where one-sided relationships that go food shopping tend to buy only what one person wants to eat. The other person may want fruit and veg but all the main decision maker wants is TV dinners.
It’s not just what you buy though, where you go and what time of the day and day of the week are all influenced by your schedule and/or your partner.
On a very rare occasion I may go shopping for food on my own, usually it’s the both of us. Personally, I prefer when we go shopping together because we can bounce ideas off each other as to what to have for dinners, what deals we should take advantage of and where to get them from.
For us, it’s not necessarily one person being easily influenced more than the other, it’s more like being in a little team where we decide what we want.
Our money isn’t split into separate bank accounts so we don’t pay separate bills or spend separately during shopping trips. Having all our money in one pot is similar to being equally influenced by each other, no one person has more say in the matter than the other. We don’t care who makes more money as at the end of the day it’s all ours anyway.
Whomever makes more money in a relationship should not be a reason to fight or a sore point or to keep finances separate in my opinion but it’s all relative to what you want as a couple.
Inclination influences
So what about if an attractive man picked up a product and bought it? Would a wife out on a shopping trip buy it for her man just because she found the other man attractive?
Sex does sell as do fantasies so if the moment is right you might just find yourself swiping that plastic to bring that fantasy home with you. It’s reality and it happens. Influences don’t have to be verbal or right in front of your face, they can be subtle and tap into the subconscious.
It doesn’t even have to be your significant other or another customer that can use the influence of persuasion, sales staff can use their knowledge, looks or gift of the gab to create sales.
Sales staff don’t have to just look good to gain sales, having a great personality can be part of their tactics along with a good knowledge of the products.
Christmas shopping
During the run up to Christmas I’ve also noticed one other thing that influences our spending habits. I have no other way of saying it, but it’s what I call a case of “the wants”, sometimes also know as the “Oooo, I’d like that”.
Social media influences such as Facebook, Twitter or anywhere on the internet also motivates people to want more or desire more because it may be new on the market, you want it first or you feel you deserve it because the marketing plan worked its magic on you. Most times it pays to just wait it out until the price drops or simply wait until the holidays are over.
This includes all those things that my wife has dropped hints at over the past few months although normally we just buy something we need on boxing day rather than spending money on each other for Christmas gifts. I don’t want to kill the budget but I’m not going to deny my wife of some of the things that she desires.
Even though we budget monthly the Christmas category as a projected expense it’s only a ballpark figure as to what we would actually spend. Many factors would influence spending more than we saved but we have to do our best to stick to the plan.
The next year we can adjust our budget accordingly so we make sure we are closer to our actual spending figures although we do try to cap our gift buying expenses on each other to a specific amount.
Depending on how your finances stand and how your relationship works could spell trouble. One person may take all the wants they can get their hands on and still demand more. If your finances can’t cope with such a large draw you could end up in trouble.
We all love our other halves but sometimes you’ve got to draw the line between wants and needs. If you want to spoil one another then you should set aside some money in the monthly budget to accommodate the spending habits you have created without going into debt for them.
However you look at it men and women influence each others shopping habits.
Think about what influences you. Do you get influenced by the opposite sex?
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My guy and I are not good influences on one another when it comes to shopping. Almost invariably, we spend more when shopping together than either of us would when alone. Alone we are more likely to treat the foray as a task and stick to our list. Together it becomes recreational, we browse more, and we tend to give each other permission to buy things we would not otherwise purchase.
I do all my clothes shopping alone, or with a close girlfriend. My fella is not at all interested and, when asked, will simply say that I look beautiful in whatever I choose to wear. It’s very sweet but not at all helpful in my decision making process. 😉 He also really dislikes trying on clothes. He’ll occasionally choose an item of clothing but it’s rare. Usually, he simply says “I need blue jeans (or shirts, or socks, or whatever)” and relies upon me to purchase them for him.
We no longer do Christmas gift shopping at all. We advised our family that we no longer wish to give or receive gifts. We still budget for Christmas food, special outings, and expenses like Christmas cards though and we also budget an amount toward charitable donations that is equivalent to what we used to spend on gifts.
I certainly drive my husband nuts while shopping! I like to rush him with groceries (he’s so unorganized!) and I like to take my sweet time with clothes and goods shopping! HA!
So it’s safe to say he dodges going any time he can lol
It’s been a while since hubby and I did a great deal of shopping together. He likes to browse and I prefer to get in and get out. If it’s clothes for me for Christmas he is buying I tend to go with him to make sure (1) things will fit, (2) is something I will actually wear and (3) can be tossed in the washer. He’s bought some nasty stuff if turned lose on his own. I’m cheap when it comes to clothes, I’m not a big fan of shopping for them, I’m tall so length can be an issue with pants, and the colours that are popular right now turn me off. I like nice bright clean colours. Everything just seems to be brown and muddy looking colours….If you can wear those colours that’s great for you but I look washed out in brown and such. If we are looking for him I will have my say. He bought a suit a number of years back. The first one he tried on he really liked and the salesman was pushing it. I said no, I don’t like it. we got a different suit. The first suit was similar to the one the salesman was wearing so I didn’t give a reason in front of him but told hubby later that I thought it looked cheap. The more he thought about it the more he realized I was right.You know how some things just look ‘cheap’……even if they are not?? that was this suit.
I don’t like having hubby with me grocery shopping as he adds to the cart things that are not on the list, usually candy or very expensive meat, budget be damned. He will look over the flyer to see if there is anything he wants me to get him or to see what we will be eating over the next few days, but it’s cheaper to leave him at home. This si the guy that was told we couldn’t get something he wanted because it wasn’t on the list… so he grabbed the list out of my hand, grabbed a pen and wrote the item on the list and said ‘there…it’s on the list so now I can have it’….. and tossed the item into the cart. No word of a lie……
I know my wife and I are always influencing each other’s purchases, but it’s usually not in the way we should be! But, we’re good about helping the other discern whether the item should be bought and money should be spend. Thanks for sharing!
I hate shopping for me! Hubby can’t influence that because I only replace an item when something is worn out. If the item in question has served me well…I will get exactly the same thing over, and over and over!
On the other hand, hubby doesn’t shop for his own clothing…I do it. I know what he likes, I know what looks good on him and since I do the laundry…I also know when it needs to be replaced. 🙂 He’d hang onto things forever if I let him!
I think perhaps if you are younger and more fashion conscious, it could be a factor in other people’s relationships. It just isn’t in ours. Hubby leaves all the purchase decisions other than his computer and our car to me. I do the meal plan, the grocery list, find the coupons and sales so although we shop together…the list is in hand long before we enter the store. 🙂
Absolutely yes we influence eachother…but it balances. My husband encourages me to spend money I otherwise wouldn’t while I manage to keep some money in our bank account haha.