A problem with my wife?

Question

My wife was hit by a car but now is relatively O.K
To make her feel more independent I left all the bills in her name
but now she can't say no to the door to door sales people.
It costs $50 every time she swaps power companies and Its becoming a problem.
I don't want to make her cry and I want to avoide preaching to her
Any ideas on how to bring this up would be helpful

Answer 1

Ask her, " honey, do you know how ......affects us?" or try asking if you could make joint decisions? You know, if someone comes to the door, and sounds like a good offer, she could say, " yah, that sounds like a good deal, let me ask my husband." You both get to decide on the pocket book. I think this may help.

Answer 2

well how did your wife being hit change her life?unless she has become mentally impaired,she needs to face reality and you need to have the balls to shove it in her face.my wife went through a windshield at 80 mph and even though it messed her up mentally she still knows right/wrong.sure her common sense may of slowed but,she still understands when explained.she does something i don't like i merely hit the sales people up with the fact she's mental and they can't enter into contracts or agreements with impaired people,get my money everytime.you mention nothing about a mental problem so,i assume you are just babying her to much.so what do you want?a wife or a child.grow up lifes hard if you can't deal with it,it eats you alive!

Answer 3

She sounds like a lady that has trouble saying no to people and i to have that trouble so now if a company rings up i just say i havent got time at the moment and that i m sorry and hang up. Maybe you should tell your wife its ok to say no to these people cause the more she says yes to them the more they will come back asking.

Answer 4

Hmmmm.. maybe I'm way off, but to me, it sounds like she's bored and/or lonely. I mean, really, who feels like talking to door to door salesmen all the time? Perhaps you need to find something else (constructive) for her to do.

I'd also try to keep the tone very light and un-critical by saying something to the effect that you are happy with your current services and really don't want to change again or get any new ones.

Answer 5

Cowboy up !!!!!!!!! You gotta take the bull by the horns here.

I think just the way you explained it to us is fine ... just share with her that the cost of changing companies is more than the alleged savings. I would ask her to stop buying from the sales people and explain why. If she is buying based on wants vs. needs than she needs to understand the difference and stop spending money frivolously.

BTW, glad to hear she is doing ok .. and I respect you for giving her this responsibility to keep her involved ... you just have to get her to stop spending the cash .. get her interested in a hobby.... painting, crafts or something.

Answer 6

my wife has chiari malformation, which is a brain disorder in which you make poor decisions also. she can still recognize it sometimes, and tells me to just make decisions because she can't do it. i still include her in them, but try to show her why i picked one thing over something else. it's definitely not easy, noone hates to lose their independence, but you don't want to lose all your money either. i really feel for you. some couples have had to have the affected peron sign everything over to the other spouse just so they don't lose everything, not that that's true in your case. it's always hard to talk about. you may be able to trade the bills for someting else she could do independently. Not to insult her intelligence, but maybe she could do the grocery list or keep track of important appointments, even though you may want to keep a copy of the also. thos door to door and phone telemarketers can be very convincing. Good luck to you both!

Answer 7

Post a "No Solicitors" sign by your door and have one of those "No Solicitors" statements put on your phone by the phone company! A lot cheaper than $50!!!! Time to have a "heart to heart" with the wife! Be gentle.

Answer 8

I think a direct, diplomatic attitude on your part, approaching her in this manner, will make her feel less defensive. Also have a list of money she was spent changing electric companies, and ask her is she sees a problem with this. Diplomacy in these matters will usually give you a more positive outcome, from the individual your trying to communicate with.

Answer 9

sit down and talk about what y'all want to accomplish in the future: trips, a new house, a new car, whatever. then ask her for suggestions on how y'all can save. maybe she'll come up with the answer herself.
if u have to bring it up, make it like, "What would you think if we...."

Answer 10

Tell her, "Honey, I love you and I am going to make life easier for you by taking over all the money matters. All you have to worry about is taking care of yourself."