The title may seem a bit feminist, especially with the international women’s day being celebrated today. Actually that is what spurred my thinking today on these lines :).

For many years now, men have been known to be the bread winners, earning for their families while we women are infamous for frittering away our husband’s hard earned money on shopping for luxury and lifestyle goods. Well, now the times have changed and so have the mindsets of people, but for the small section of people who still believe so, here are some interesting facts according to a survey-

• Women are more careful and organized. It is mostly men who end up losing / misplacing their wallets, mobile phones, credit cards etc.
• When it comes to investments, women are much more conservative and most of them invest in low risk / stable avenues. Men are more likely to suffer huge losses on their investments.
• Men are more prone to using credit and spending higher amounts on their credit cards; women prefer cash or debit cards. And even when they use credit cards, they always ensure to pay their bills on time!
• While men are more “literate” financially in terms of a formal education, a higher percentage of women learn to handle their finances through practical application in their day to day life.
• While women make very frequent smaller purchases, men spend more – they make fewer but more expensive ones.
• When it comes to budgeting, women are certainly better- especially among the middle and lower middle class where women not only efficiently run their daily household on their husbands’ modest salary, most of them also manage to save something for a rainy day.
• Women always put their family first. Men are more likely to spend any significant cash surplus on themselves – buying new gadgets, sports equipment or some branded goods, while women would think of spending it on things which benefit the household- buying that much needed washing machine, replacing the old mixer etc.

Today, women are on par with men in all respects- education, career, freedom of thoughts and expression. Yet, owing to years of conditioning, women still consider finance and investments as a man’s domain and let their husbands take all the key financial decisions for the family. It is important that all couples work as a team to ensure a financially secure future for themselves and their future generations.