Originally Posted by catrancher
When I retired, I told my husband I wanted a monthly allowance deposited to a separate checking account for me to spend however I want to. We agreed on an amount, and started doing it. That way, I can feed my hobbies, and he knows I won't break the bank. It helps me keep to a budget too. It's one of the best ideas i've had for avoiding conflict.
Now this sounds like a great idea. Way to go. I didn't start quilting until 2002 the year after my husband died. I have a considerable sized stash now as does my girlfriend. (We started quilting together.) We share our stashes and sometimes the RIGHT fabric is nowhere in the quilt shops, but in one of our stashes. We don't regret buying fabrics that we like even though we may not have a specific project in mind at the time of purchase. We are able to sew from our stashes now, but always find new fabrics and projects to take on. We have both retired from teaching and probably will have to limit our acquisitions somewhat (!) in the future. But given the size of our stashes we will be able to quilt for a long time!