Would You Want to Know?

. Have you seen the commercial for Overstock.com where the woman squeals excitedly about her engagement ring? Then, the guy says he saved thousands of dollars buying it at Overstock.com? I don’t think I’d want to know. Would you want to know?

I would like to know how many women out there would be as thrilled as the lady in the commercial to learn that her husband-to-be was cheap frugal.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving thousands of dollars. But I submit that there are times when a husband, or husband-to-be, should not confess how much he spent on his wife. For example, my husband surprised me with a gift the other day: a beautiful, red shamagh (pronounced “schmog”).

Fashioned from a square, cotton scarf, a shamagh, also called kuffiya, is a headdress. You can wear it a variety of ways. It provides protection from the sun, keeps blowing dust and sand from one’s mouth and nose, and will keep your neck warm. Several non-Arab countries, including the U.S., have adopted it as a fashion accessory (see one way to wear a shamagh here and another here.)

I’ve admired my husband’s shamagh for a long time. So I was thrilled to get one of my own. That is until he proudly told me that it only cost him $1.99. I punched him on the arm and told him, ‘Don’t tell me that!’ Whether it cost a lot of money or a little, I don’t want to know.

It’s not that I don’t value the gift for the gift’s sake. I want to feel special. I don’t feel as special when I’m told how little the person spent.

Lynette M. Burrows, author, Lynette M. Burrows science fiction author, Lynette M. Burrows action-suspense science fiction author
Me and my shamagh

How about you? If your significant other gets you a gift, do you want to know how little much he (or she) spent?

7 comments

  1. I love your photo! 🙂
    Would I want to know? Depends. I’ll never forget my mom getting really angry at my dad when he bought her a ring as a gift–because she thought it was too expensive. Totally backfired!

    1. Thanks, Coleen.

      It’s a tricky thing, buying a gift for someone so dear to one’s heart. You want to give each other the moon, but it’s really not what is wanted. Truly some of the best gifts I’ve ever been given were inexpensive. And the really best ones were bought at all. 🙂

  2. I’d hate to think my husband paid too much for a gift for me. That said, I’d rather not hear anyone brag about how little he/she paid for something. I like a bargain but not the bragging.

    Once upon a time, a ordered pashminas online as gifts for my mom, a friend, and myself. I was happy with the wraps and the price I paid until I took mine to a conference in NYC. In a chilly meeting room, an acquaintance saw me wearing it and asked if I’d bought three for $15 from a street vendor. She wasn’t being snarky; she’d considered the buy. While I still like my pashmina, it’s not special anymore. Worse, I fear my mom and friend think I bought theirs for five bucks apiece.

    Lynette, you look great in your shamagn, but put down that gun.

    1. Oh, Pat, the story about your pashminas is ‘priceless’ (yeah, it’s a bad pun.) I am sorry your pashmina isn’t special anymore. That’s part of the reason I don’t want to know the price of any gift I receive. Gifts should always be special (even when the gift is to oneself).

      Don’t worry about the gun, Pat. I almost ruined the photo because I was starting to laugh at myself. If you look closely you can see the smile cracking my ‘tough-gun-toting mama’ persona. 🙂

  3. My apologies to Marcy Kennedy and Kassandra Lamb. The attack on my host’s server resulted in your comments being lost on this site. I loved both of your comments. Fortunately I was able to copy them from the email notifications I received and I’ve pasted them here.

    From Kassandra:
    Only if it was a reasonable amount. If he paid too much for it, I’d be upset, but also if he told me it was really cheap. That engagement ring commercial always makes me want to throw something at the guy’s head!

    From Marcy:
    I think for something important I might not want to know, but for regular gifts I’d be happy to know that it was inexpensive. I imagine that might change in the future, but right now my husband and I are on a shoestring budget because we’re saving up for some big upcoming expenses. So for me, if he was wise enough to find a great gift for very little money, that earns him bonus points 🙂

  4. I already knew when I married mine that he was “so tight I squeak” and proud of it. Knowing him, I’d expect it to have been a good deal.

    Love the photo of you in your shamagh! That is priceless.

    1. It’s always good to know your partner well. Yes, I imagine he would find a good deal. LOL.

      Thanks, dear friend, for the compliment and stopping by!

Leave a Reply to Lynette M Burrows Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *