Suze Orman: Why Married Women Need To Be Involved in Household Financial Decisions
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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It’s becoming increasingly common for women to be involved in their household’s financial decisions. A recent GOBankingRates survey found that among coupled women, 59% take the lead on household financial decisions and an additional 31% said they make financial decisions along with their partner. While this is great to see, that also means that 11% of women are not involved in their household decisions at all.
Suze Orman believes this is a big mistake. Here’s why she thinks that every married woman should be involved in her household’s financial decisions.
You Can’t Be Financially Secure If You Are Not Financially Involved
Orman believes that every woman needs to be involved in financial decision-making to ensure their own financial security.
“To not engage in and understand your family’s finances is to embrace weakness,” she wrote in a blog post. “You can’t be financially secure if you don’t know what decisions are being made, and don’t understand the ramifications of those decisions.”
You Should Be Prepared To Manage Finances on Your Own
Orman also points out that in heterosexual marriages, women are statistically likely to outlive their partners.
“Even if your husband has made fantastic choices and has left a detailed blueprint of your financial records, you are going to be miserable if you find yourself engaging with all of that for the first time as a widow,” she wrote.
“Don’t fall back on the fact that your husband has been working with a financial advisor,” Orman continued. “It’s typical for that to be the dynamic, and it’s typically going to backfire. Studies show that when the husband dies, the surviving spouse often fires that advisor. Why? Because she has no relationship with the advisor! Or there’s some level of distrust or caution, or just a desire to start fresh.”
You Shouldn’t Assume Your Husband Always Knows Best
Even if you trust your husband’s intentions, this doesn’t mean he will always make the best financial decisions, Orman cautioned.
“Your husband might not have all the best ideas,” she wrote. “That doesn’t mean he is wrong, or careless. But name me big decisions in your life that weren’t helped by you both thinking it through and deciding together. Yet you don’t do this when it comes to money. That is nuts. And it needs to stop.”
Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed 1,001 American women ages 18 and older from across the U.S. between April 18 and April 20, 2024, asking 18 different questions: (1) What is your primary financial goal?; (2) What is the biggest barrier to achieving your financial goal?; (3) If you are actively investing, what is your primary investment vehicle?; (4) If you are not actively investing, what’s preventing you from investing?; (5) How much student loan debt do you currently have?; (6) How much credit card debt do you currently have?; (7) What is your biggest obstacle to paying off your debts (credit card, student loan, medical, etc.)?; (8) What is your biggest source of financial worry/stress?; (9) What is your worst money habit?; (10) How involved are you in household financial decisions compared to your partner?; (11) Which of the following financial professionals have you utilized? (Select all that apply); (12) Do you consider yourself financially secure/stable?; (13) What is your biggest financial regret?; (14) Do you consider yourself bad with money?; (15) How would you describe your relationship with money?; (16) Do you consider yourself to be financially independent?; (17) Which ways do you live frugally? (Select all that apply); and (18) What actions are you taking to build long-term wealth? (Select all that apply). GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.
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