Women are more careful with money than men

by Ed Bowsher on 11 March 2010  |  1 comment
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Our research shows that when it comes to cash, women are the more sensible sex.

I’m sometimes a bit embarrassed to be a man. We’re loud, we’re aggressive and we can waste a whole evening talking about football. And even worse, I’ve often suspected that we’re more profligate when it comes to money.

So we’ve done some research at lovemoney.com to find out more about how men and women behave in their financial lives.

We started with credit cards. Many borrowers are paying something like 17% on their credit card debt and that’s clearly a big no-no. Well guess what? Your average man is carrying £2,176 of debt on his credit card whereas your average woman only has debt of £1,987 on her card.

It’s a similar story when it comes to loans. Only 49% of women have taken out a loan at some point in their lives whereas 57% of men have borrowed. What’s more, twice as many men as women admit that they miss loan or credit card repayments “all the time.” On top of that, twice as many men as women forget “all the time” to pay the household bills promptly.

Not good guys!

So what can men do to improve their financial circumstances?

Well, I think the secret to good financial management for both sexes is to keep a close eye on your cash.

First step is to draw up a budget. Figure out how much money you’ve got coming in each month and how much is going out.  If you’re spending too much – and even if you’re not – you should then keep a spending diary. Keep a record of everything you spend for a month and you should soon be able to spot some savings. It could be small things like too many cans of Diet Coke. Or at a bigger level, maybe you could cut that subscription to Sky.....

I’ve been budgeting for a few years now but I confess there have been periods where I’ve been slack and not stuck with it. However, that’s now changed. I’ve developed an addiction to lovemoney.com’s new online banking service which means that I know exactly how much money I’ve got every single day.

Basically, our service enables you to see on one page exactly how much money you’ve got in your current account,  your savings account, and your credit cards. And then it automatically categorises your spending for you, so you can see how much you’ve spent on categories such as “mortgages/rent” and “music & movies.”

It takes the hassle out of budgeting and I’ve already spotted a couple of areas where I’m spending money unnecessarily. I can now cut back on my spending and increase my savings for the long-term. I’m really pleased!

So come on, guys. Let’s fight back! Let’s sort out our finances so that by next year, men are the true kings of cash.

Check out our  Manage on a small budget goal where you'll find more tips on how to keep your finances on an even keel.