Are men better at managing money than women? - Page 5

davoscat · 12-30-2007, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MillionaireMommyND

My greatest hope is that I can make a dent in some people's perception about women. There is no greater honor for me than to be considered as a positive female role model.

Do you get this perception from other personal finance bloggers as well or just the public at large? Your blog skyrocketed in a relatively short period of time. Do you think some of the backlash might be a bit of traffic envy?

I adore your blog. It is nice to have more success stories like yours to point to whenever people start doubting my abilities.

viviansushi · 12-30-2007, 06:02 PM

handling money can mean spending wisely, or not. using credit wisely or not. wasting time or not. its all relative. is someone really gaining by working 40 hours if 20 hours of their pay is going to childcare? is it wise to spend money on toys if your job is about to give you a heart attack?

i think much comes from general impulse control, regardless of apparatus.

in certain social settings there may be more advantages towards one gender over another in the knowledge available to them. if i golfed with CEOs and knew the crap going on in companies, i may not want to invest in them. as an outsider, sometimes its easier to follow your gut on what the trends are. did it make sense that housing was growing faster than wage growth? can we have a thriving economy of small businesses without providing universal healthcare?

if its considered good financial sense to outsource the entire intellectual property of this country's backbone (manufacturing, programming, etc) at the same time as making it impossible for lay people to afford an education, this country is not heading in a good direction.

how does all of the above relate to managing finances? it's an individual perspective thing..based on values. not everyone thinks of money as the same thing. not everyone wants to 'win' with money. no everyone uses money the same way. sometimes the best way to handle your finances is not to spend anything, but change your own habits.

xoxox

a chicago urban bicycle rider

MillionaireMommyND · 12-30-2007, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davoscat

Do you get this perception from other personal finance bloggers as well or just the public at large? Your blog skyrocketed in a relatively short period of time. Do you think some of the backlash might be a bit of traffic envy?

I adore your blog. It is nice to have more success stories like yours to point to whenever people start doubting my abilities.

I don't know. When I get an icky email or comment, it's usually posted anonymously. I do know that I have a chauvinist (troll?) that tries to get at me through other PF blogs - after I told him/her that I wasn't willing to accept further emails/comments from them. I do have reason to believe that this individual IS another personal finance blogger. But I'd like to think this is a rare exception to the extremely nice and supportive group of PF bloggers I've been getting to know.

Patrick · 12-30-2007, 08:04 PM

I voted "men and women are each better at different aspects," but I changed my mind (I was thinking about my relationship with my wife and other personal examples; I wasn't thinking big picture).

When I look at the big picture, I think men and women are the same. There are great money managers and CEOs of both sexes, and there are people of both sexes that are up to their noses in credit card debt and have no clue how to get out of their situation.

I think this is an interesting topic and the responses have been great. I think it is just too difficult to make a sweeping generalization because of the complexities involved.

As for my situation, my wife is very level headed especially when it comes to buying things, and is a great inspiration for me to take care of things (I procrastinate). But, my wife knows little about investing, and prefers to leave it all up to me. I explain the basics as we go, because I believe it is important for her to know them, and we talk about our decisions, but I handle the details and transactions. She does have all the necessary info though if something should happen to me.

jasoos007 · 12-31-2007, 05:58 AM

I think woman are more qualified in saving and budgeting whereas man are inherently good into investing ...there are always exceptions though...don't ask me why I think so ..may be that;s just my story ..

rorich · 01-09-2008, 06:08 AM

I believe that women, as well as men can excel at managing money. Women have been stereotyped as impulse shoppers, always ready to splurge. However, I know of quite a few women who have done an excellent job of keeping their finances in order —adhering to a tight budget with a clear understanding of "needs" and "wants".

On the other hand, there are men who are terrible in that department. I must admit, I WAS among that group. Now I've become quite the penny pincher. I think at some point or another, reality will set in along with the arrival of added responsiblity, like children, mortgage, etc. Ofcourse learning sooner than later puts you at an advantage.

farley2k · 01-09-2008, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miss messycovers

It costs so much more to be a woman! Makeup. Tampons. Keeping yourself up. I think it is harder for women to manage their money because the societal pressures to spend are greater.

I think men have to spend as much it is just often on other things. They buy football season tickets (to take the boss to a game, or a client, etc.), they have to buy golf clubs and club memberships, and I am sure lots of other things.

rodaniel · 01-12-2008, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farley2k

I think men have to spend as much it is just often on other things. They buy football season tickets (to take the boss to a game, or a client, etc.), they have to buy golf clubs and club memberships, and I am sure lots of other things.

Now there's some nasty stereotyping!

Most of the guys I know do not spend exorbitant amounts on those kinds of things. Granted, I'm in the minority here, but I'd sooner toss my money in the street before I contribute a penny of the massive corruption known as "professional sports." (Support your local high school & college sports programs, folks!)

However, I'm pretty sure that many guys are now spending nearly as much on personal grooming & hygiene products as women do - those fancy 4-blade razors might be "da bomb," but they're also crazy expensive! Guys are beginning to be much more conscious of doing some of the sames kinds of personal upkeep that women have been doing for decades.

It's enough to make you wonder if all guys are becoming metrosexual!

Rob

Miss Rosie · 01-12-2008, 12:29 PM

I think men and women tend to have different cultural experiences with money that can vary somewhat from family to family. It leads to different strengths and weaknesses that tend to tilt in favor of gender.

The thing to remember is that just because something is new to you doesn't mean you can't learn it. We can learn pretty much anything. We may never become expert at it if the core aptitude isn't great, but we can always get a bit better than we are.

Ginger · 01-14-2008, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will

Is there something about men that makes us better money managers? Why are women associated with so many negative financial stereotypes?

Gold diggers
Daddy's little girl
Impulse shoppers
Penny-pinching housewives

Why do we have these stereotypes? Are they a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy?

In September, Nina Smith of Queercents noticed that women financial bloggers are not getting their due:

Does this discrepancy highlight some kind of inherent bias the blogosphere has against financial advice provided by women? Or are there truly differences between how men and women manage money?

Ive noticed that as well and I think its a great disservice because we could use some more estrogen around the PF Blogosphere! But I see why. I wrote a post about this and pretty much men are said to be better financial planners because they are taught to invest and think long term whereas women are thought to only think about using money to create a certain lifestyle.

Now, while I think there is some truth to this, it obviously doesnt apply to all men and women. There are men and women whom the opposite would be true, but generally I believe this is the case.

View Poll Results: Which sex is better at managing money?
Men are inherently better	5	9.43%
Women are inherently better	6	11.32%
Men and women are each better at different aspects	25	47.17%
They are exactly the same	17	32.08%
Voters: 53. You may not vote on this poll

12-30-2007, 06:02 PM	#42
viviansushi Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	it's an individual thing. handling money can mean spending wisely, or not. using credit wisely or not. wasting time or not. its all relative. is someone really gaining by working 40 hours if 20 hours of their pay is going to childcare? is it wise to spend money on toys if your job is about to give you a heart attack? i think much comes from general impulse control, regardless of apparatus. in certain social settings there may be more advantages towards one gender over another in the knowledge available to them. if i golfed with CEOs and knew the crap going on in companies, i may not want to invest in them. as an outsider, sometimes its easier to follow your gut on what the trends are. did it make sense that housing was growing faster than wage growth? can we have a thriving economy of small businesses without providing universal healthcare? if its considered good financial sense to outsource the entire intellectual property of this country's backbone (manufacturing, programming, etc) at the same time as making it impossible for lay people to afford an education, this country is not heading in a good direction. how does all of the above relate to managing finances? it's an individual perspective thing..based on values. not everyone thinks of money as the same thing. not everyone wants to 'win' with money. no everyone uses money the same way. sometimes the best way to handle your finances is not to spend anything, but change your own habits. xoxox a chicago urban bicycle rider

12-31-2007, 05:58 AM	#45
jasoos007 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	both have their own posiitve I think woman are more qualified in saving and budgeting whereas man are inherently good into investing ...there are always exceptions though...don't ask me why I think so ..may be that;s just my story ..

01-09-2008, 06:08 AM	#46
rorich Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New York Posts: 57 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (14)	It depends on the person I believe that women, as well as men can excel at managing money. Women have been stereotyped as impulse shoppers, always ready to splurge. However, I know of quite a few women who have done an excellent job of keeping their finances in order —adhering to a tight budget with a clear understanding of "needs" and "wants". On the other hand, there are men who are terrible in that department. I must admit, I WAS among that group. Now I've become quite the penny pincher. I think at some point or another, reality will set in along with the arrival of added responsiblity, like children, mortgage, etc. Ofcourse learning sooner than later puts you at an advantage.

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12-30-2007, 08:04 PM	#44
Patrick Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	I voted "men and women are each better at different aspects," but I changed my mind (I was thinking about my relationship with my wife and other personal examples; I wasn't thinking big picture). When I look at the big picture, I think men and women are the same. There are great money managers and CEOs of both sexes, and there are people of both sexes that are up to their noses in credit card debt and have no clue how to get out of their situation. I think this is an interesting topic and the responses have been great. I think it is just too difficult to make a sweeping generalization because of the complexities involved. As for my situation, my wife is very level headed especially when it comes to buying things, and is a great inspiration for me to take care of things (I procrastinate). But, my wife knows little about investing, and prefers to leave it all up to me. I explain the basics as we go, because I believe it is important for her to know them, and we talk about our decisions, but I handle the details and transactions. She does have all the necessary info though if something should happen to me.

01-12-2008, 12:29 PM	#49
Miss Rosie Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 100 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (27)	I think men and women tend to have different cultural experiences with money that can vary somewhat from family to family. It leads to different strengths and weaknesses that tend to tilt in favor of gender. The thing to remember is that just because something is new to you doesn't mean you can't learn it. We can learn pretty much anything. We may never become expert at it if the core aptitude isn't great, but we can always get a bit better than we are.