My Fabulous (money-saving) Husband

This post is dedicated to my husband because he continues to be the best thing that happened to me 8 years ago, and I love bragging about him! We just celebrated our 7 year anniversary and he has put up with a lot more than he bargained for when we met and got married! But, I like to think that he's learned more from me about saving money than he ever thought possible, and hopefully I'll continue to surprise him in the rest of our lives together!

My husband is one of the greatest savers that I know. If there is something that he wants, he will go without everything to save every penny for it, and the "it" for him is normally a pretty expensive item! For the past year or so, he has been saving his money to buy tools. I guess this is a guy thing because every tool seems to be the same to me, but I guess he thinks the same about my shoes, or earrings, or white t-shirts, or ... (is it just me or was a pattern developing!) Anyways, he has been saving his money and searching for coupons to make his dollar stretch as far as possible. The other day, he finally found what he was looking for and was on a mission to get it at the best possible price.

First, he had been watching Craigslist for people selling gift cards to Home Depot at a discount. I was initially hesitant about this, but after talking to the associate at Home Depot, my fears were put to rest as they verified the amount on the card on the spot and said it couldn't be used anywhere else but in the store once it changed hands. After looking for about 2 weeks, he finally found a $500 gift card being sold for $400. That's a 20% savings.

Then, he found a 10% off coupon good on his entire purchase.

Then, we decided in this case, it made sense to apply for and open a credit card and save an additional 10% since the savings were about $100. I normally wouldn't advise this, but because of the savings we decided it made sense for our family at this time. (Be sure you discuss if this option is best for you.)

He called ahead of time and asked to speak to a manager who verified that he could use the above discounts combined. After about 3 hours of shopping (and they think it takes a woman a long time to shop for a dress), he had his items and went to complete his purchase with discounts. The first person told him that he couldn't combine discounts, so he asked another. The next person told him no, so he asked for a supervisor. Finally, after about 15 minutes of politely but firmly stating what he had been told on the phone, and asking for the next person, he found a helpful associate that completed his transaction using both discounts and gift cards. I was so proud when he told me that he continued to ask for someone else that could help because he was equipped with information that he knew to be true.

So, at the end of the day, my husband bought almost $1000 worth of tools and "stuff" but only paid about 60% of that because of his money saving strategies! Although I often am so proud to be my husband's wife, this moment was one for the record books and I couldn't be happier that part of me is rubbing off on him!

I love you baby and you can shop at Home Depot anytime!