95% of women like me do this

by Donna Ferguson on 21 January 2011  |  8 comments
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I thought I was unusual, but it turns out I'm not.

In my household, I hold the purse strings.

It would be weird, in a way, if I didn’t. I am, after all, the editor of this esteemed financial website. But my husband is the higher earner and, even though we are married and share responsibility for joint expenses, his salary is his own to do with as he pleases. Yet if a bank ever calls him up to try to tell him – never mind sell him - something, his response is always the same: he gives me the phone.

Which is why I was interested to read today that, according to research out today by Halifax Savings, I am not alone. Apparently, 35% of women take responsibility for the household budget and major financial decisions. Another 59% share this with their male partner, but just 2% hand over sole responsibility for the finances to the man in their lives.

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner?

Interestingly for me, the Halifax study also found that women who live in London are even more likely to take charge of the household finances. The research revealed that 54% of women in London take the lead on big financial decisions, and over two-thirds are the sole decision-maker when it comes to small financial decisions like buying food and clothes.

What’s more, almost all of the women in London – a whopping 95% - consider it important to save money or have their own saving pot. Compare this to the South West, where just 17% consider it important to have their own savings. Nationally, the figure is 52%.

Personally, I’d place myself very much in the 95% bracket. I would never feel comfortable relying entirely on my husband’s savings in an emergency, even though his savings dwarf my own. I would want to be able to have my own money to call on, if I needed to.

Women are more careful with money than men

Here at lovemoney.com, we’ve done our own research in the past, looking at how men and women behave in their financial lives. We found that:

-          Men carry almost 10% more debt on their credit cards

-          49% of women have borrowed a loan, compared to 57% of men

-          Twice as many men as women say that they miss credit card repayments ‘all the time’.

If you conclude from this that women are more cautious than men about their finances, then perhaps it's not surprising they want to have control over the household budget and major financial decisions.

Men and women aren't all the same

Of course, it’s wrong to generalise about gender. In many households, it will be the woman who is the spendthrift and the man who is the thrifty spender.

This is, after the stereotype: the woman spends all her money on shoes or clothes or ceramic collections of cats, and will not listen/cannot understand sensible money advice.

I do know women like this. But then again, I know men like this, too. I can’t help thinking about a conversation I had with a male friend over the weekend. Eighteen months ago, on a whim one weekend, he bought a brand new BMW sports car. He didn’t have much in savings, but used PCP to make it affordable – paying only for the depreciation of the car, and not the full price. (You can read more about this method in A cheaper way to get a new car.)

Now, a year and a half later, he wants to sell it. “I spend almost as much on it as I spend on rent,” he confessed. “And I drive it once a month. It’s just not worth it.”

His wife sat next to him, very quietly, but I know what she was thinking.

What do you think?

So tell me, in your own experience, who’s better with money: men or women? Do you agree with the research about the ways that men and women differ in their management of money? Let me know your thoughts using the comments box below!

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