Money-making, Career Women & Wives?

Question

The world has changed, women are more independent, and gender-roles in the general relationship seem to have been diluted due to many factors. I need your sincere beliefs on the following please.

WOMEN:
---- If you are a working wife who earns an EQUAL OR GREATER SALARY than your husband, do you think that your husband should still pay the majority or all of the bills as the man in the relationship or would you split it 50-50? Or would you base the bill contribution on who makes the highest income, even if it's you? Why or why not?

MEN:
----Would you rather marry a woman who is a stay-home wife or has a low paying job? Why or why not?

---If your wife earns a salary of EQUAL OR MORE than you do, would you expect or desire for her to contribute to any bills? If so, how much: 50-50 or depending on who makes the most?

Answer 1

Interesting question as well as a bit controversial these days. I am not intimidated by an independent, strong, career oriented woman.....I'm married to one. Well, that's what she was when I met her, she is now disabled, so I have lived both ways. I supported her in her job, she made a bit more than I did & had much better benefits. We've always put our money together and paid for things that way. What's left over we talk about what to do with. Since she has been home and unable to work and I was the sole supporter, I still felt like she did her part in the relationship and I enjoyed her being home, although not under those circumstances. I believe that once you get married, what's mine is hers and what's hers is mine.I mean our lives are a shared partnership now, so I feel comfortable with that. I think both people have to make some compromises and treat each other like the life partners they are. It's not about who pays what or who makes more. It's more about being a team and working through things together.

Answer 2

I AM THE WOMAN THAT: earns a GREATER SALARY than my husband, I guess I kind of base the bill contribution on who makes the highest income, but not really.
I don't have a problem with it. I feel more independent, I know that if anything were to happen in my family, ie. divorce, injury or death of my husband, I can still stand on my own and not have to depend on anyone.
Mostly my husband and I put all our money together, pay our bills, a percentage of whats left goes into savings. Then whats left we usually spend together or he takes what he needs for his things and I do what I need. Heres our ratio monthly

I contribute 3072.00, He contributes 989.00 monthly. But he also contributes all the Medical and Health benefits from his employer and he gets to stay home with our baby daughter more, which saves us in child care expenses and less worry about whats going on with her when she is away from us.
I love our arrangement and the money part isn't important to either of us as long as we are happy and it works for us.

Answer 3

I do not think that 50/50 is fair if one person makes a great deal more than the other. I am not married but am living with a man and I make significantly more than he does. I pay the majority and he contributes but not 50/50. It is sort of prorated based on income. for example, if I made twice as much as him I would pay around 66% and he around 33%.

Answer 4

I'd like to be a housewife with lots of money and NOT work, but that is NOT going to happen so instead I get to be a full-time wife, mother, student, and manage a finance company. Yes, I have money, to pay my half of the bills and babysitters while I work all the time. Sorry, but if my man made the $$$$$, I'd have my behind right at home. I have a lot of satisfaction with my job too, but I'm sure there are other people who would love it just as much as me if not more.

Answer 5

My Hubby pays all the bills I have a portion of my income deposited into a joint account where these bills are paid from.

That's not how I would have did it but my husband insisted that we do it this way.

I don't complain. Why would I argue with a man he just wants to be a provider.

Answer 6

The one thing we do right in my marriage is handle money. We both work. Sometimes I've made more, sometimes he has. We each put a portion into retirement. The rest goes into joint checking and savings accounts. I handle the monthly bills. When we have extra, we both agree on how to spend it (or not). If we had to divide everything based on percentage of income, I think we'd always be fighting and one or both of us would start hiding money.

Answer 7

you go off percentage.. at least I do.. if I make 80,000 a year and my husband makes 20,000 a year, I would pay for 80% of the bills. At the moment though we are just working our butts off just to pay our bills together, and still trying to have SOME money left over.. but by percentage is how it should be, even if the woman makes more.

Answer 8

Joint checking....we are partners, not competitors. All money earned goes towards the good of the household. Any "extra" money isn't divvied up based on who earned more, etc. We mutually agree on splurge purchases. Simply put, all money goes into a pool that we both dip into equally....unless a new 360 game is coming out and then I totally get shafted that month. :)

Answer 9

ANY money earned by either partner in a marriage should go into a joint account and all bills paid out of that account. Individual spending on luxury items should be agreed to by both parties. This crap about hers and his is just that, crap.

Answer 10

what i do is pay by percentage. if the total bills are about 30% of our combined income, then he pays 30% of his pay and i pay 30% of mine. the actual amount will not be 50/50, but even in percentage.