FAMILY FINANCES

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 310, 22 March 1928, Page 17

FAMILY FINANCES

WIVES’ IGNORANCE SECRETIVE HUSBANDS At the Glerkenwell County Court in London a woman recently told the registrar that she did not know how much her husband earned. She had been married 30 years, yet she was still ignorant of their exact financial position. It sounds almost incredible that a man can be so short-sighted as to keep his wife in total ignorance of so important a matter. Yet there are numbers who follow the same practice.

At one time the young bride was satisfied to accept a weekly sum without question. She was not interested in how it was obtained, because she understood little or nothing of business. She was content to perform her duties as her mother and grandt mother had done —depending upon her husband’s generosity. But a woman looks at things from a different angle now! She knows the value of money and is sympathetic to the tired worker. The wife of to-day wants to be a partner—not merely a housekeeper. She is as ready to make the best of bad times as she is to enjoy prosperity. But how can she do this efficiently unless she knows all details concerning both income and expenditure? Partner or Housekeeper? The average man is surprisingly reserved on the subject. Many men are silent about finance with the idea of sparing a wife anxiety. This is mistaken kindness! The modern woman wants to share her husband’s confidence and in doing so can assist him in wise expenditure. As partners in a business would discuss finance, so should husband and wife arrange the amount they can afford for household expenses. Insurance policies, children’s education, amusements, charities and other calls on the purse are all matters which should be considered from the woman’s point of view, as well as that of the man. Secrecy leads to misunderstanding and often results in couples drifting apart. But candour creates fellowship. If a wife is treated as a partner the atmosphere of home life gains in brightness. When the husband returns from work there will be endless matters of general interest to discuss. In the case of a small income secrecy is economically unsound, for the spending of every penny then requires common planning. The smaller the Income the greater are the difficulties with which a wife is faced. And it is therefore unfair to expect her to accept the inevitable without soliciting her advice. Two heads are better than one because discussion opens up possibilities which are frequently overlooked. And if the income, no matter how small, is allocated by mutual consent, there is no continual “asking for money,” which so often leads to bickering and argument.