ISTOCK
GivingMoneytoFinancialSuperiorLiXiaoqing
A29-year-oldmiddleschoolteacherinBeijing
InChina,itshouldnotcomeasasurprisewhenaChinesemantellsyouthathesurrendershissalarytohiswifeforsafekeeping.ManyChinesewomenareinfullcontrolofthefamily鈥檚householdpursestringsandinmyfamilywegobythesameapproach.
WithreferencetomyhusbandandI,Ikeepourbankcards,butwebothhaveaccesstotheaccount.Myhusbandwillsurrenderandtransferthemajorityofhissalarytotheaccounteverymonth,apartfromanadequatemonthlyallowanceforhispersonalspending.Althoughwealwaysdiscussandagreeonmajorpurchasesorexpensestogether,asawife,Imanageallofourexpenses:bankloans,medicalbills,groceries,andsoon.Myhusbandiswillingtogoalongwiththisapproachbecauseheregardsmeasresponsiblewhenitcomestomanagingfinancesathome.Inmyopinion,therearetworeasonsthatexplainwhyitiscommoninChinaforwomentocontrolthehouseholdpursestringsandhavetheirhusbands鈥檚alariessurrenderedtothem.
Thefirstonerelatestofinancialmanagement.Whenthatcomestomoney,itseemsthatwomenaremoreresponsible.Womenaremoreinclinedtoworryabouttheday-to-dayspendingofmoneyandthereforemakemoredeliberateinvestmentdecisions.Womenweremorelikelythanmentocutonspendingandprioritizeonsaving.Onthecontrary,husbandsaremoreinclinedtorationallytakeoninvestmentrisks,andthereforeendupspendingmore.Sointhatcase,theirsalariesshouldbesurrenderedtothewifetomanageinordertoavoidoverspending.
AnotherreasonisthatmanyChinesewomenthinkthatifamangivesawayorentrustsallhismoneytohiswife,that鈥檚asignoflove.Nevertheless,Isuggestmoneyissuesbediscussedbeforemarriageandbothpartiesconsiderputtingasideafixedmonthlyallowanceinseparateaccountsforboththeirfinancialrequirementsandajointaccountwherethebigsavingsgo.Isuggesttheonewhoismoreresponsibleandfinanciallyindependentshouldbeinchargeofthejointaccount.
Husbandsareinclinedtospendmore.Sointhatcase,theirsalariesshouldbesurrenderedtothewifetomanageinordertoavoidoverspending.
RespectandHonestyaretheKeyRonaldTafirenyika
A33-year-oldfinanceconsultantinZimbabwe
Money,ifnotdistributedevenly,canraiseissuesinallhumansetups,andfamiliesarenotexempt.Themannerinwhichacoupleadministerstheirfinancesmayeithermakeorbreaktheirmarriage.Inmyculture[Zezuruculture],thewifeiscommonlykeptoutofthefinancialdecisionmaking;sheisusuallysidelinedasamereadvisorwhocanonlymakerecommendationstothehusband.Thisapproachappliedtomodern-daysocietyhasresultedinfailedmarriagesasnowadaysmostwomenearnanincome.
Indeed,owingtomytradition,culturalnormsandreligion,[asaman,]Iamentitledtobethesolekeeperoffamilyfunds,butwhenitcomestofinances,Ihavedecidedtobemorereasonableandfair.Asacouple,weworktogetherandI[husband]encouragethatoursalariesshouldbecombined,sharedandspenttogetherandIchoosetoadheretothisapproach.Ihaveobservedthatmanycouples,whojointlysurrendertheirsalariestowardthefamily,aremuchhappierthanthosethatplacetheresponsibilityononespouse.
MywifeMillyandIhaveequalentitlementtooursalaries;theybelongtous.Mywifeputsinanequalamountofefforttobringfinancialstabilityintoourhometherefore;sheisentitledtomyfundsasmuchasIamentitledtohers.Idon鈥檛ruleoutthenotionthatwomentendtobemorecautiousonexpendituresascomparedtotheirmalecounterparts,butit鈥檚onlyfairthatanequalamountofinputbyeachfamilymemberacquiringasalaryshouldrequireanequaldistributionandaccesstoeachother鈥檚salaries.
Ibelieveinsynergy,andthatacombinedinputisalwaysbetterthanaone-sidedapproach.Insteadofthehusbandsurrenderinghisentiresalarytothewifeorviceversa,thereshouldbeequaldecisionmakinganddistributionoffundsfrombothparties,puttingeachother鈥檚financialneedsintofairconsiderationespeciallywherebothpartiesearnasalary.
Owingtomytradition,culturalnormsandreligion,[asaman,]Iamentitledtobethesolekeeperoffamilyfunds,butIhavedecidedtobemorereasonableandfair.
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