Frugal Wife

Is a frugal wife necessary for early retirement?...No, but without one you would not be on this site...would you?

For those that money is no object you can retire anytime and anywhere...coupons...shoepons...saving money makes no difference to these folks.

Since I am pretty sure this is not you...definitely not me...having a budget-minded wife is crucial to early retirement.

Fortunately I happen to be married to one...she has been frugal in the days before we retired when we had a bit of money...frugal ever since when we have to watch our pennies.

What does a frugal wife look like?

In the photo above...The frugal wife is on the right...I am the clueless one on the left.

Ever since we have been married, 36 years and counting, she has been slow with her dollars...She got her frugality from her late father...and my hero...when Julie was three her Mom passed and her Dad worked three jobs to keep the family together.

He was forced to be frugal and Julie learned from the master...she has never changed her spending habits in times of plenty and tight times...when I started in commercial real estate, the first six months were tight, after that I was successful...no matter... she still went to Goodwill, clipped coupons, watched for sales...she has never stopped.

What a frugal wife does

She sees an ad for a free turkey at Safeway if you spend $100.

She gets 2 $50 gift cards from Target, for our 9 year old nephews...ever try and guess what a nine year old wants for Christmas? The thought gives me a headache...let them get what ever they want themselves...we are happy...they are happy.

In addition she gets a $15.00 coupon for her her next purchase over $50 at Safeway...also a $0.10 discount per gallon on our next fillup at Safeway.

Her top tips for saving money...with links

You may have seen these on site...here is a review:

• Buy staples in bulk...shop on one day
• Coupons...make them a way of life
• The number one tip to save money
• Can you do better than free?
• How important is research to frugal living?
• We have this every week...every week
• 4 best ways to save money
• My frugal wife vs. the First Lady

Hope you pick up a tip or two...and these tips are not do as I say we follow them religiously...every day...every time...please take buying on impulse out of your vocabulary.

One more frugal wife story

When we were newlyweds in 1975...she asked if she could handle the money and open a savings account...I said sure, never having saved a dime in my life. About 11 months later I asked, "Did you ever open that savings account?"...she said,"Yes"..."How much do we have...I asked?"...her reply was..."$3,200".

Readers, I had never seen $3,200 in one place in my life...I was floored...we were living great, took vacations, etc...18 months after we were married our savings had grown to $6,000...we bought our first house, paid for the appliances all thanks to my frugal life partner.

Conclusion

I have been blessed by having a frugal wife...in many ways. Ladies if these habits are not yours start today...It is a way of life and a game for her.

And people wonder how I could retire at age 49???...Thanks Angel.

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SBI!