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Women and money

March 25th, 2008 at 05:58 pm

In general, wives are in charge of household finance in the country I'm from.

How to save money is one of most popular articles in women's magazines. Most of my friends (female) handle money for their family, and give their husbands an allowance.

My parents were same way. My mother was SAHM, and she handled money. When my father got paid, it went straight to her, and she was giving him an allowance.

Most of my friends, as far as I know, handle household finance as well. They pay bills, put money in savings, and make a decision about large purchases. Actually, car dealers won't take a man seriously until wife shows up with him. They know husbands are not the final decision makers.

Also, it is common for husbands to negotiate a raise of their allowance with his wife when they get their salary raise.

So, I was shocked when I came to the U.S. and saw my friend's husband giving her money when we took a girls' trip. I have never seen it before..... I thought it was interesting how different cultures handle money differently between men and women.




Posted in Every day life | 8 Comments »

8 Responses to “Women and money”

  1. Caoineag Says:
    March 25th, 2008 at 06:13 pm 1206468836
    1206468836

    That is interesting. I think its more split down the middle in the US at the moment.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    March 25th, 2008 at 07:24 pm 1206473040
    1206473040

    Yeah, I think here in the U.S. it's more about who's good at handling money. Maybe a little about who's the main bread-earner. I'm the only one good with money and the main bread-earner (though not by much) and I handle all the financial aspects of my household. But even if I earned less than someone I'd still handle it because I'm good at it.

    Then again my husband oversees menus and grocery shopping, and does or keeps track of most of the cooking, cleaning and interior decorating, because those are his strengths. Don't think that's very typical, though I bet there are a few other households like ours!

  3. Broken Arrow Says:
    March 25th, 2008 at 08:12 pm 1206475953
    1206475953

    Interesting indeed!

  4. NJDebbie Says:
    March 25th, 2008 at 10:28 pm 1206484123
    1206484123

    In Spanish culture men usually handle the finances, although I'm beginning to see some changes. I think it depends on each generation. I handle the finances at home because I can squeeze a dime out of a nickel.Smile

  5. creditcardfree Says:
    March 25th, 2008 at 11:08 pm 1206486533
    1206486533

    As the SAHM, it is I who handles the finances right here in the good old USA. My husband doesn't seem to mind a bit!!

  6. homebody Says:
    March 26th, 2008 at 01:17 am 1206494235
    1206494235

    Ceejay74, another family here like yours. I handle the finances too, and DH did all the grocery shopping and cooking for almost the entire 30 year of our marriage. I just recently am starting to become more actively involved. That was the only way I was able to work full-time and contribute financially to the household. The girls and I did most of the housework, but that was fine with me.

    DH had and still has his own checking account that food funds were put into. That helped with the budgeting. That way he could stock up on specials.

  7. sillyoleme Says:
    March 26th, 2008 at 03:01 am 1206500506
    1206500506

    I'm not married yet, but between me and my boyfriend, I am definitely the strongest financially. It's not that he spends alot of money, he just doesn't know about alot of the details of saving, investing, retirement, etc. When I worked in insurance, we were told that women actually make 79% of household purchasing decisions, even in some unexpected categories like cars & electronics. This has only been the case during the last generation or two I think, but it is definitely here now.

  8. luxlivingfrugalis Says:
    March 26th, 2008 at 08:25 am 1206519900
    1206519900

    During 25 years of marriage we've done it both ways. I, however, have a much more fanatical interest in all things financial and have an educational background in accounting so I tend to be the more thorough 'financial & estate planner' type. Hubster was always more of a 'pay the bills on time and that's good enough' type. His not being willing (or having much time to what with working full-time) to study or learn about the financial world makes me the better one to pursue stretching our dollars the farthest. He is a very solid practical thinker though and while I do the investigative study, we make decisions together. I am the banker though, handing out allowances, etc. Mainly just because I'm the one w/time to get to the ATM or bank.

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