by Guita T. Gopalan

Women and shopping – men cringe when these two words are put together. They think of the time they’ll spend (aka waste) walking around like a puppy following their women go from one shop to another, try on a thousand or so dresses and eventually just buy one. Or they think of how much money was spent on that bag or pair of shoes that she ‘just had to have’ which could have been spent on something much more practical like a new tire for the car.

Stop aggravating your man by being an effective shopper (or encourage your woman to read this article).

These three tips will not only help you plan and spend wisely, it’s guaranteed to help you and your man stay sane when shopping!

1. Plan to Spend. Spending is not bad…It’s one of the most important aspects of personal finances. It becomes a big problem when you spend impulsively. When you want to buy shoes or a bag or some other things that seem both a need and want…plan to spend for it. Give up spending on something else and save up to buy what you want. This ensures that you will always be on budget!

2. Go ROBO! Know exactly what you want to get (or at least narrow down the choices) by going ROBO – research online, buy offline. With the click of a mouse, you will easily be able to compare prices and user recommendations. You could easily also just buy it online and save yourself the trip to the mall!

3. Collaborate. Instead of just dragging your man along when you are going shopping, shop together. That means going to stores where the both of you can pick up things for yourselves, or giving each one an equal amount of time. It also means seeking and ACCEPTING his opinion about what you are planning to buy.

These are only a few things you can keep in mind when shopping with your man. More can be found in Francisco J. Colayco’s new book – Easy Money Para sa Kababaihan, available in all leading bookstores nationwide.

Guita T. Gopalan is the Managing Director of Colayco Foundation and is a member of the OneCORE Success Center.