How Women are Leading the Charge in Household Finances
The mental load has been a hot topic amongst women across the globe for quite some time now. But another added layer to the load that isn’t often mentioned is how many women are also finding themselves the managers of their household’s finances.
In fact, research shows that women are almost twice as likely to be the ones handling the everyday household budget than their male partners. From choosing which bin liners and toilet paper to spend money on to planning for bigger expenses in the future, it’s women who are increasingly the ones in the relationship taking charge.
It’s not just the women of the UK who feel like the family financial manager. According to US insurance firm, Allianz Life, nearly half of women who took part in the study feel like the Chief Financial Officer of their household, with Gen X and Millennials being the two leading generations.
Because of this, women are also more likely to feel guilty when spending money. And this mindfulness of where the household money is going can have an effect on how women strategise and budget their household finances.
Some strategies women use to protect their household’s finances
- Buying in bulk at the supermarket
- Planning and prepping meals for the week
- Looking out for reduced labels at the supermarket
- Eating out less
- Comparing prices for home services
- Buying own-brand groceries rather than big brands
- Only buying clothes during sales
- Using cashback websites
- Building an emergency fund
- Cutting down on energy use in the home
Cutting down on energy use can go a long way towards saving on energy bills. For example, not leaving the tap running when brushing your teeth or turning off electronics at the mains to make sure they don’t continue to drain energy while plugged in.
Saving on energy bills and comparing home service providers can also go hand-in-hand, for example when choosing a multiservice provider like Utility Warehouse (UW). Customers who bundle more than one service with UW, including energy, can receive discounts on their monthly bill with the company.
Having multiple home services like energy, broadband, mobile and home insurance with one company also makes them easier to manage, as there’s only one account password, bill date and contact number to keep track of.
Women building multi-income households
As well as finding ways to save money, women are also looking to diversify their income streams for financial stability. For example, investing in stocks and shares or taking on multiple jobs.
Becoming a multi-income individual (having two or more sources of income) is becoming more and more common, with both men and women looking to supplement their main income and protect themselves from the ever-increasing cost of living.
Being a multi-income individual doesn’t necessarily mean having ‘traditional’ jobs, like working in an office on Monday to Friday and working in a shop over the weekend. There are a large variety of side hustles people are making money with, for example teaching English as a foreign language online, selling handmade crafts on Etsy, being an Uber driver and freelancing.
Some women in the UK are becoming UW Partners to earn an additional income stream, working as registered distributors of the company’s services and earning commission and residual income on the customers they successfully refer.
For example, Daisy, along with her husband, Gareth, earn money as UW Partners, with Daisy having the most control over the couple’s finances.
Although it’s not a requirement, UW Partners also have the option to be a customer with the company too – which many Partners opt to do, because it enables them to both earn money for their work and benefit from the discounts and cashback the services offer.
With more and more women taking on the management of the household’s finances, it’s more and more important for women to feel empowered to take control of their own financial security.
Why not consider starting a side hustle of your own, or joining UW as a Partner to earn a little more alongside your regular income? Not only is it important to balance saving money with making more, but it’s also a practical way to further stabilise the household finances and prepare for anything the future throws at you.