Married Women and Money

Women make many of the day-to-day decisions about how their family spends money. Yet, many women don’t take the time to learn about financial management. Nor do they take the lead in creating an estate plan. With the falling economy, rising health care prices, and growing need for long term care insurance, it's more necessary than ever for you to take responsibility for your own retirement and estate planning.

Why is it so critical for you to become financially savvy? Women live longer lives, on average, than men. A married woman might outlive her husband by 20 years. If she is a stay-at-home mom, she may not have her own social security history and may not have her own retirement funds. Women tend to earn less than men, leaving them with fewer resources later in life.

So in the long run, ladies, you will bear the burden of not knowing what your and your husband’s financial status is. Where should you start?

Although it is not as common as it used to be, there are still women who do not know even how to write a check. Do you? Do you know in which banks all the checking and savings accounts are? Do you review bank statements or does just your husband access them to make sure the bank hasn’t made any errors?

Do you look at the credit card statements? Do you know how much you owe and how much your husband owes? Do you have a budget so that you know whether you are living beyond your means?

Have you and your husband sat down to discuss how much money you have accumulated and how to invest it? If he were to die tomorrow, would you know who your investment advisor is or what your money is invested in?

Have you made arrangements with life insurance on the lives of you and your husband to protect you and your children? Have you researched the costs of care in your old age and whether long-term care insurance or some other means would be needed to pay for those costs?

Do you have a will, a financial power of attorney, and a health care advanced directive? Even if you would appoint your husband to handle all of these matters for you, have you thought about and written down who would act as a back-up if both of you were in an accident together?

If you have minor-age children, have you written a will that appoints a guardian for them? Even if you don’t love your choices, would you rather that a judge that doesn’t know your family choose your kids’ guardian for you?

Yes, you are busy, you don’t have time, these subjects are too dry and morbid, your husband is very happy to take care of everything so why should you worry about money? Death, divorce, disability – you can be alone and hopelessly bewildered about your financial situation without any warning. Don’t let this happen to you. Take some time now, a little bit at a time, to learn about money, in general, and the money that you and your husband have. Read books or magazines, talk to your friends, and consult with experts. You will never regret it.