by R Marie Taylor

Created on: September 15, 2008

Who pays the bills?

'Controlling the family budget' is not about one partner having power or greater financial authority over the other partner within the relationship. It's about sharing responsibility in a practical way everyday, every week, every month in order to feed, clothe, entertain and house the family.

Financial responsibilities within a family should be shared. However, for practical purposes, one partner will probably deal with the day to day running of the family budget while the other partner is aware of the general state of the family finances, but not actively involved in every single aspect of running the household. This assumes the 'Family Budget' consists of household expenses such as groceries/sundries, clothes and general bills...

The wife is usually but not always the best person to deal with the practical, day-to-day issues. Especially if she is the partner with more time and/or interest in dealing with such things as planning family meals, maintaining school clothes/shoes and dealing with the daily mail. In most families, the wife does most of the grocery shopping.

Anyone that questions this statement should go to any grocery store anywhere in the world and look at the people most likely to be buying cartloads of food and chances are pretty good that it's mostly women. Food is a major expense for families and it must be purchased on a regular basis. In most families, the wife does the majority of the cooking, so it's only sensible that she chooses the food that she will be preparing for her family.

If the wife buys and prepares most meals, then she has a major impact on the family finances. This is especially true if money is tight. She may control the family budget in a very practical way by purchasing the lease expensive, bare necessities one week in order to pay the electric bill, but the following week, she may choose to stock up the fridge and pantry because she knows that money will be short again when the rent is due at the beginning of the month.

This example demonstrates one of several methods that the wife uses to help control the family budget in very practical and necessary ways.

Ideally, the person that is most responsible with money should manage the general family budget and both partners should be aware of important things such as life insurance policies and investment accounts. Both partners should also have a say in any major purchases such as a new car or house. Finally, both partners should have a good idea of how much money is coming in and what most of it is being spent on.

The very best way to 'control' the family budget is by having honest discussions on the family finances and allowing the one partner with the most time and interest to ensure the day-to-day financial issues run as smoothly as possible.

This person in many cases, but not all is usually the wife. She may or may not be the partner to make final decisions on major purchases or look after long-term financial planning for the family such as choosing the best mutual funds and other investments. She may not be too involved in choosing the best service providers for major and minor home and car repairs... but these are just a few examples of things that are completely different from running the day-to-day family budget.

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