Question 3: Should women take control of their finances or should they forward that responsibility to their husbands?
Since ages man has been the bread earner and the person running the financial show at home. Do you think women should step in and start taking financial responsibilities? If yes, then how should they start managing their finances?

Answer 1: I believe that control of the finances should be a joint responsibility. Especially if both parties are contributing to the household. A budget should be made by both parties and stuck to. A portion of each pay should be deposited into a savings account for emergency situations that may come up. Both husband and wife should have an amount for personal expenses. The balance should be distributed toward household expenses. Payments out of the checking account should be overseen by both.
Answer Posted by |strangclan

The other answers worth mentioning are:

Answer 2: Personally, I think that both partners should have an active roll in making financial decissions. One of the things I would have done differently in my marriage would have been to make my husband sit down with me when I was taking care of the bills. It isnt fair to let one person worry about how the electric bill will be paid this month while the other is longingly staring at the classified ads at motorcycles.

Communication in everything is very important to any marriage. You work together as a team and when things get tough you work it out together. Money is one of the number one topics that cause fights in marriages.

Obviously there are some instances where one spouse is better at handling finances than the other, and therefore that person is the one who plans the budget and arranges the bills. But there still needs to be communication, not a solid, end-of-story hand off of the bills.

Answer Posted by |jennifer_bailey75

Answer 3: I believe then and now that if it is a bill or debt that accured before the marraige then the wife should take most of the responsibility for it but at the same time let her husband know that she needs to take care of it and maybe he will be able to help out with the other bills that they have together. I would not ask my husband to take care of a bill that I built on my own before I met him. I would want to do that on my own. Unless he offers to help out in some way then thats different. She should try and manage HER finances with her money and share the bills they have together with THEIR money.

Answer Posted by |nicole.roman

Answer 4: Women should always be responsible for their finances because if a woman relies solely on her spouse to manage her finances,when something catastrophic happens such as an illness,divorce or worse case scenario death she will be lost as to how to even balance a checkbook. The time for a woman to manage her own finances starts before she even becomes a wife. It should start the minute shes old enough to start receiving an allowance when a child or when she gets her first job. I work in hospital as a case manager/social worker and have come across many situations
where a man comes in with terminal cancer and he is the only one in his household who manages the finances and when the worse happens, it is left up to the surviving wife to handle everything including the mortgage,checking,car payments,funeral arrangements and alot of times they dont know how and there is no children or extented family to help and then it becomes the responsibility of hospital social workers to try and assist the best they can.

Answer Posted by |naida.kent

Answer 5: I believe that marriage is a sacred bond between two people. Those two share their lives together including the responsibilities. Spouses should work together to help each other out, if they have separate accounts and are comfortable recording transactions in the register themselves then that is the way they should do it. If one of them does not feel capable of doing it then the other should offer to help. If they have joint account(s) then they should work together in managing it.

Answer Posted by |JCEMT

Answer 6: Whether one is a man or a woman makes no difference when faced with financial responsibilities. However, in response to the question: Women (and men for that matter) should manage their finances with frugality and in a non-objective manner. For starters, I recommend creating a conservative monthly budget strategy. Do not spend more than you can afford. Focus on eliminating your highest interest debt first (if you have debt). Start saving sooner than later if you can to take advantage of the power of compounding interest. Seek the help of a professional if managing your financial responsibilities are more than you can handle.

Answer Posted by |Nicholas Fulton

Answer 7: At our house, I am the one that takes care of most of the finances, per say. My husband has never reallys hown any interest in doing it. But I do include him in everything as far as what we have to pay, how much the bill is, where we stand financially, etc. I personally think it should be a joint effort. You never know what is going to happen to one or the other and I feel that both needs to know what is going on and share the responsibility. Over the past few years, I have really pushed my husband more and more to get involved in the finances. I think it should be an equal partenership. And to be honest, I do think women are taking financial responsibilites in todays world. Too many of us work and want to know where the money goes and a lot of us are or have at one time been single parents or spouses of someone that was in the military and we had to take responsibility. I believe it is important that both the man and woman should share the responsibilities and work together in that area.

Answer Posted by |2nband

Answer 8: Women should handle their own finances and share the responsibility with their husbands/boyfriends/significant others, regardless of who makes more money. Ill never forget a neighbor of mine from when I was a child. They were the sweetest people. He passed away suddenly and at 65 years old, my neighbor (his wife) knew absolutely nothing about their finances. She didnt know their bank, how much money she had, how to write a check and she was terrified. No one should ever feel that way. Understanding how to handle money, how to balance a budget, and where you stand financially is a major key in what I like to call "living happy". My three steps are:
1. Make a list of all bills and expenses
2. Make a goal (how much you want to save, when you want to have your bills paid off by, etc)
3. Seek out financial assistance. Your bank often has someone who can help you with this or ask someone you know who has great financial standing.

Answer Posted by |laurie.allen

Answer 9: Now-days with economy as it is, I feel that it is the womans perpective to run her own finances, even if she has a sweet open-the-door, pull-out-a-chair kind-of-a-guy. People change and it has been proven. Especially when it comes to finances and when there are two involved in the relationship, things are not as lovely as it seems when it boils down to money. Because a mans way of what he wants to do with his money is different from what a woman wants to do with the money she has sweated for. Mens toys are cars, and fancy ones for the man who can afford them and it is totally different from a womans perspective of what she really likes. For the wife and mom, its living expenses and more surrounding her to-be children, theyre included as well. Not saying that a man is unemotional when it comes to children, a woman just have a natural instinct on the little extras a child may need and want, as well as what is necessary for them (educational, doctor care, etcera...and all the lttle extra things that add up as they grow. A mans concern should be to upkeep the financial status when it comes to the womans house and utilities, but the woman should have more say so when it comes to interior decor and food and clothing expenses, (after all, home is where the family begins in a setting where it is a peaceful environment for all.) When daughter grows up and wants a new setting for her bedrooom, it should be up to the mom to make the decisions. A woman should be comfortable in her surroundings. A man should understand that! Would your daughter be comfortable in a room decked with spinning wheels and checker race cars on the walls and an plain bunk bed with no feminine qualities if she ask dad to fix up her room? Now dont get me wrong there are men who knows womans preference when it comes to shopping, but few are women who find them! Because the first thing a man will probably say to the woman, who just walked in the house with a sexy dress and shoes to die for, "Honey what ya go out and buy that for? We dont need it". Yea but I do, so I can keep you looking at me, (I threw that one in there for laughs). What if the child needs extra things for camping, seasonal clothing, all that needs to be addressed to the mothers concerns. Why do you think we women are designed to carry babies? Cause God saw that a mans place is to take care of a womans needs financially. But to let her deal with the responsibilities of monitoring the financial status within the home. and the man just provide what it takes to have one. This is not to say that a woman can lavish herself with expensive things that are not affordable, but to properly dispurse amounts to where it needs to go, so family can be happy. After all the woman has to cook, clean, and do more than the man has to around the house. Because when he comes home from work, after she has been in the house all day or even shared in the responsiblities of work, she still has to look after a ton of things and she should definately have say so over the managing of money in the home. But if a woman happen to run into a man that completely comes home and tells her that the rent is taken care of as well as the utilities, and the rest of the money is hers to manage then...shes got a good catch! He would never have to fish for another, after all Money is the root of all evil, if its not in the womans hands! This reading has nothing to do with my family, Mine is fine and dandy. This is s based on my view of other family lives.

Answer Posted by |Verdelle

Answer 10: Very simply, YES! Women should take control of their finances. Generally in a two person relationship, one person may have stronger skills in financial management. This person (male or female) should be temporarily in control as both partners receive financial counseling and make a mutual financial plan.

In order for any plan to work both partners need to be on the same page. It is important for a couple to make a plan that works for THEM individually, based on their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Answer Posted by |luv2laugh

Answer 11: I believe that finances are something that a man a wife should share in responsibility of. When you marry you say "for richer for poorer". If one person is the soul responsibility you could end up with the other person pointing the finger and saying "hey, you handle the finances and look where we are". But if you make decisions together, then you both have to take responsibility for it. I have a great example of this. My mother-in-law passed back in May 07. She handled all of the finances and when she passed, my father-in-law was left with an eye opener. He had no idea how much debt they were really in and when he started looking into it, he found that he was almost $2000 negative in his bank account because of "automated" drafts that he didnt know existed. He found credit cards out the whazoo that she had and didnt tell him about and he found bills that werent paid. If they had shared the responsibility then they are both held accountable for the finances and you dont end up with so many "surprises" if something happens to one of you.

Answer Posted by |sbillingsley90

Answer 12: I personally feel a woman & man are a team so it would be to both of their benefits to share this duty.Another thing that should motivate a spouse or girlfriend is if they were ever to divorce or husband died,it would fall on her to manage the household. In my family,my wife takes care of the bills and I provide the majority of the income.

Answer Posted by |cajunbulldog

Answer 13: YES i do. I think that they should go 50/50 on everything.SO that way everything should work out for the best.

Answer Posted by |JEANNETTA GIDDENS

Answer 14: If you are a woman and do not know your financial situation, or cannot manage your financial situation, you need to start taking control of your life today.

There are agencies such as the Business Womens group, community resources and your library that offer free financial classes dealing with finances and debt.

For years women always took the back seat when it came to finances and budgeting, and then when a divorce or death occurred, they had no idea how to begin to manage their lives.

I had no idea how to do this, depended on my husband, then we got a divorce. With a small child, I had to learn with out help, to budget, manage money, and put back for emergencies. I went to a friend who had a husband in the financial business and he sat me down and showed me the way to budget, pay bills, and manage maoney. I did well, until I maried again.

I married a man I let take over the financial part of our marriage for a while, then we both got into serious financial problwes. We both learned what kept getting us into the trap, putting wants in front of needs, get it now, pay later, etc., and now are on the road to financial freedom.

I think as young girls that they should be taught the essentials of money and management. This way, you as women, can feel free and not have to depend on a man, or another person to take care of you..

Answer Posted by |Bossy4455

Answer 15: It should be a joint effort for both the husband and the wife to handle the finances. The reason is because if the husband dies or get sick, the wife will not have a clue in what is going on in the household and what bills should be paid.

Answer Posted by |wssu91

Answer 16: Women rule the world, thus, they should rule their own money as well.

Answer Posted by |Lukeskywalker

Answer 17: I think that whomever is better at managing financials should be the one that takes the most responsibility, man or woman.

Answer Posted by |goudah2424

Answer 18: It depends whether or not the wife has an income or not. How can she handle finances if she has no money? I do believe that women who work, or has an income to support her expenses, should take care of her own accounts. However, if its something they share, like the utility bills, rent, mortgage, etc, they should split the costs, or at least have each one assigned to pay certain bills.

Answer Posted by |markofkane

Answer 19: To have a successful marriage it is very simple. It like anything in marriage should be a joint effort. All finances should be handled equally by the husband and wife team sitting down and budgeting out their bills and the month prior to the money going out. A woman should not control the finances nor should her husband. It must be joint control.

Answer Posted by |mikerbagley

Answer 20: No,I think it should be a joint responsibility and the question itself is INCREDIBLY sexist. A marriage is about working together, so BOTH parties should be responsible.

Single MALE 36 Years old answering that question

Answer Posted by |andrew1212852723

Answer 21: No,I think it should be a joint responsibility and the question itself is INCREDIBLY sexist. A marriage is about working together, so BOTH parties should be responsible.

Single MALE 36 Years old answering that question

Answer Posted by |andrew1212852723

Answer 22: I think the person who is best with budgeting and record keeping should take care of the finances. It doesnt matter who the "bread winner" is in the 21st century. I think that everything should be a partnership regardless of how much one person brings in to the home. My degree is in finance so in my home I handle the money. I enjoy it and I have more experience with budgeting than my husband. But we came to this decision together as a team.

Answer Posted by |ashleyd2005

Answer 23: Yes, you never know when something will come up and you need to know where you stand.

Start managing finances by knowing your balance and after bills paid if any bills are necessary and could be cut from the budget to help save money.

Answer Posted by |Joanne1213038192

Answer 24: Hello,

I think its imperative that women are aware of their fiscal picture, from a protection standpoint alone. There are too many instances of women having the life sucked out of them fiscally and having nothing to show for it in the end. My mom has always run the financials in my parents household, because she knows that my dad does a better job bringing it in, than he does budgeting it. It has saved them TONS of money over the years.

Answer Posted by |jmblu613