When my father passed away 15 years ago, my mother didn’t even know how to use a bank card. How times have changed.
According to a recent survey by FindLaw.com, married women between the ages of 18 and 34 today are more likely to know about and manage a couple’s finances.
“We found that younger women, in many ways, are the most money-savvy among married couples,” said Stephanie Rahlfs, an editor with FindLaw.com, a website that provides information on marriage.
One might argue that this is simply another domestic responsibility women have taken on in order to maintain control. Women today are better educated than previous generations.
I certainly know that when my husband assumed we’d pool our finances when we married almost five years ago, I was just a wee bit taken aback. Okay, I practically snapped his head off at the suggestion. This can become especially acute when the post-Christmas spending hangover creates more than the usual relationship tension around money.
I’ve since mellowed and recognized the benefits of working together as a team to reach our financial goals and we’ve found a way of handling our finances that works for us.
Frankly, I couldn’t imagine not having a major role in managing our finances as a couple as my mother was. And yes, I do handle our finances for the most part.
Partly because I have been handling my own finances since I was 18 and partly because, oh hell, okay, I’m a bit of a control freak…and he wouldn’t do it right anyway.
