Justifiying buying a Rolex to spouse...

[amnstjohn54]

Any tips on justifying to your spouse that a Rolex is a good purchase? I've tried the It's only 2% of our cash, I will pass it down to our son, it will last a lifetime, it's as good as cash if we lost our credit cards overseas, you only live once and it will be my last expensive watch purchase (haha!). Any other tactics you all have used? Her counter is you already have a Breitling and other nice watches..."ya so..."

[yannis]

Just go and buy it John. If she asks tell her you changed the look of your Breitling by getting a Rolex face to it.

[beshannon]

If you need to justify it then maybe you should not do it?

[amnstjohn54]

Originally Posted by beshannon

If you need to justify it then maybe you should not do it?

It's justifying to someone who doesn't share the same passion...you have to find creative ways to show them the light...it's not like it would hurt our financial situation at all as it's 2% of our cash...

[MrGMT]

Tell her you will get her an expensive handbag or something she likes that should work

[watchwatcher]

Spoil her with the things she likes. Then, spoil yourself.

[Uncle00Jesse]

Did your father or family member pass down a watch to you? If so, I'd play up how important it is to you to pass one down to your own children. Regardless, if I had roughly 500k in cash lying around, I'd buy 5! :)

[THEPAM687]

On Valentine's Day don't even bother unless you have a death wish.

[sanosan34]

Originally Posted by MrGMT

Tell her you will get her an expensive handbag or something she likes that should work

Ah yes, the wife tax. Happy wife, happy life!

[sco]

Tell her it will make you happy to wear a Rolex, a watch that you've wanted for some time.

FYI, it doesn't matter how much cash you have... If you feel you can afford something that's great, if not, don't buy it...

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by sanosan34

Ah yes, the wife tax. Happy wife, happy life!

I don't know how it is my wife doesn't care a lick what I do in the watch category. Makes me veeeery hesitant and suspicious (which is probably her plan).

[kneedeep]

Get her an unjustifiable piece of jewelry that she likes.

[cornerstore]

Tell her it's your new hobby. As hobbies go it is very inexpensive relative to other hobbies. Get her involved in your excitement.

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by amnstjohn54

It's justifying to someone who doesn't share the same passion...you have to find creative ways to show them the light...it's not like it would hurt our financial situation at all as it's 2% of our cash...

Tell her the return on your cash will wipe out the paltry 2% hit in no time.

[DLRIDES]

Document the estimated dollars spent her shoes, clothes, and jewelry, then present a comparative evaluation in the interest of "equal rights".

Spousal units are a luxury, not a necessity.

[Chiboy]

Try "It's only 1% of our cash?"

Seriously, my wife doesn't care at all, but if I were trying to rationalize it to a spouse, I'd say, "It's the only 'jewelry' a man wears besides a wedding ring."

It's actually true, unless you drive a Corvette!

[Mystro]

It depends on how you have your money set up in your house hold if you should or need to tell your wife anything. After 20+ years of successful marriage. I found that not fighting over money issues requires multiple accounts.
Many have a primary joint/house account and a his and her separate accounts that is used for more individual spending. I never let my watch or any other spending come from my joint/home account. This way I never have to ask "permission" or justify what I spend my own money on. I did buy my wife a new Jeep as a anniversary present from my personal account as a surprise. This goes along way in defending the merits of separate personal accounts.

[mjclark32]

Go buy it. When she notices it, just say "whelp, too late now"

[Pattyb69]

Whats her wrist size? Can she wear 40mm? If she can then it can be a double purchase!

[Wcdhtwn]

Work on her for a while... remind her every so often. Leave your computer on Rolex.com, make your desktop image the Rolex you want. Go to an AD and get some Rolex magazines and leave them around the house. That way it seems a passion instead of a fleeting thought of buying something shiny that costs a lot of money.

Wifes will support their husbands passions and interests but are less excited to endorse spending on "just another watch". Or just another whatever. The percentage of the cost of the Rolex compared to your entire worth, or perhaps just cash, is irrelevant to her. And the Rolex is just as good as cash argument isn't compelling... if it's just as good then keep the cash. Perhaps offer to trade in one of the watches you have to sweeten the deal (from her perspective).

[psv]

You ask first?

Buy it to celebrate some type of milestone then, explain that it has been a life-long goal of yours. Or say you'll sell the Breitling. Or...

[cdmorenot]

No matter how much you try to convince her, there is a chance she will not get it. Mine did not.

She got it after my first flip - I bought a Submariner for $6500 and I sold it for $6500 almost a year later. At that point she realized I wasn't as crazy as she thought.

There are things you simply can't articulate well enough, explaining to your spouse why a buying a Rolex isn't throwing away cash is one of them.

(Pretty soon she is going to be asking for a Rolex too)

[Boaters]

Just do it and handle the fall out later

[rph08]

Good luck buddy...My Wife has her hobbies, and I have mine. My hobbies tend to be a little more costly, but I try to make things balance out. For example, I sold my Explorer and Explorer II (neither were getting worn much anyway) to fund my SD4K and Tudor Heritage Ranger purchases. If there's a new pistol or rifle I want to buy, then I'll sell one of my old ones that have fallen out of favor. My Wife is happy with this strategy, and it keeps my "collections" from getting stale!

[Chad M]

What about thinning out your collection? I think its important we are upfront and respectful towards our wives with purchases like this. If we honor and respect them it will be reciprocated, otherwise....

[WAK4]

Separate accounts helps for sure...things come and go and more often than not, if she doesn't recognize what is on my wrist, she only looks to see if it says "Patek Philippe" on the dial. And for that, I blame the people she works with and their reaction to finding out I had one (from that reaction she did not want to tell them it's not just one...). So if it's a Patek, I usually let her in on the move in advance .

Otherwise, it's more of a personal thing - doesn't seem like you'd be going broke with the spend. My wife can't be bribed...she would yell at me more for buying her something to go with my watch. Maybe yours would appreciate a new piece of jewelry or handbag...just factor that into the cost.

Mine is ok with it overall as long as it doesn't interfere with anything else going on. Can't do landscaping in the back yard or take a vacation or some other home improvement thing because I blew the budget on watches? General savings not going up, or cash reserve not where we want it to be? Then I'd have a problem...fortunately I self manage that and have yet to get in trouble on that front.

Each relationship is different, but I think it does help to point out that you aren't pissing away your money; if you buy right, you now have an asset that you can liquidate if need be at minimal, if any, loss. Pretty common to read about guys who sold to get through a financial hardship and look to get another when recovered. I myself blew up my collection when we bought a new house we hadn't planned on.

Years ago I often bought on secondary market, wore it a while, and flipped for profit to go into the next one. Not so easy these days, but you can recover a good chunk.

Good luck! Hopefully we see an incoming soon.

[jeffgo888]

I don't like to use the word "justify". With all due respect, your your own person, you have difft thoughts etc. Why ask permission? Buy what you want and what makes you happy. As far as I know , you don't stop living when you get married. As mystro said, get your own separate accounts. As for me, I bought mine without asking anyone, my money, I do what I want ,when and where I want. Kids have their college funds, mortgage is being paid what's the issue? Lol...

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[JMK01]

We each have our own accounts. I purchase what I want with my extra money and the same with her. I did discuss with her my rolex purchase before hand. And she totally supported my watch purchase. Shes a wonderful women and I wouldn't have been able to have it without her.

[kilyung]

Sell all your other watches and anything else you don't need anymore. Should have enough for a Rolex then.

[Richard Carver]

...tis far, far easier to get forgiveness than permission... :)


It was an incredible deal sweety would have been idiocy not to move on it...isn't it pretty??