In Most Couples There’s Only One Person Handling The Money

It’s so important for everyone to have some level of control and education around their finances, but according to a recent UBS Global Wealth Management study as reported by The Wall Street Journal, 54% of women in the US say their spouse is taking the lead on “major financial decisions.” Yeah, in 2019. As to why women are opting out? Well, a whopping 88% said, “I think my spouse knows more than I do.” 76% said, “I’m not interested in planning and investing.” The reasons why this is a pretty troubling thing should be obvious but let’s all go over them just in case. Let’s say your spouse who is handling the money get’s sick or maybe even dies, or, if you get divorced from the spouse who is handling the money — it’s going to be really really tough for the spouse who has been in the dark to take on issues like budgeting, investing, taxes, health insurance, estate planning (the list here goes on and on). This is not a position that anyone should be in. If you see yourself in this at all, first of all, don’t feel bad, you certainly aren’t alone. Here are a few things you need to do to get up to speed:

1. Get a hold of the basics. Know where the wills and powers of attorney are kept. Know the passwords for all of the bank and investing accounts.
2. Have a good sense of the size and location of all of the important accounts including all of the bank accounts and investing accounts.
3. How are the accounts being funded? Know where the money is coming from.
4. Have all the beneficiary forms been filled out? And who are the beneficiaries?
5. Know all of the debts.
6. How how much money might be available from Social Security.

Take the time to do this, and don’t become a part of this statistic. It’s worth your time. Feature Image: Twenty20