Men vs. women: Differences in money management

A Dad’s Point-of-View

The article Ten elementary differences between men and women was so popular that I decided to continue the theme with a series of male/female differences for the greater good of mankind. Oops, was that politically incorrect? Personkind? Humankind?

I am not interested in being politically correct at all. I am interested in being truthful. And, one truth that isn’t taught much in Women’s Studies departments at our colleges is that men and women are inherently different. Yes, this may come as a shock to your feminist professor buddies, but we’re not only built differently, we tend to do, think, and act differently as well.

That said, there are exceptions to every generality and stereotype. I’m declaring here and now that I’m making both generalities and stereotypes, but I assert they are true the majority of the time. Simple truths about men and women include that most men are taller than women, most women live longer than men, most men have more hair on their bodies, most women have menstrual cycles, men gain weight in the belly predominantly, while women gain weight in their rear-ends and thighs, predominantly. Am I right, or what?

So, when it comes to money, there’s little doubt that men and women approach it with different ideas, attitudes, and methods. With this statement we have three differences for this topic, though I may have to follow this list up with another one, since money is such a touchy and universal issue between men and women!

This list is in no order of importance and I hope contains ideas you may not have thought of before:

1.    Men think gifts get different points, based on their cost.

What the heck does that mean? It’s simple. A guy gives a gal a bouquet of flowers and he expects it’s worth say one point. He gives her a $500 designer handbag and it’s worth, perhaps, five points. Okay, I’ve just exposed another difference. As you women readers know all too well, there’s no cool, designer handbag that costs even close to just $500. If he has really screwed up and gives a costly piece of jewelry, it’s worth at least ten points in his eyes.

We guys think those points mean we’re off the hook for a while based on the number of points we’ve “earned.” What we don’t realize is that our women value each of our gifts exactly the same – at only one point. So, while we think the callous remark we made or the backward glance at the hot girl over there should be forgiven due to the point system, we’re wrong. If we’re lucky, those points last the rest of the day. So, my advice is to always give a gift in the morning.

2.   Women think they can add, subtract, and balance their checkbooks.

Okay, I’m stepping into it now. This ideas fits in “the guy thinks he knows directions better than women” category. Women have a hard time figuring out tips, balancing their checkbooks, and doing basic math. It sort of relates to the point system outlined in #1 on this list. Women’s minds react very strongly to certain things like getting a great deal on a pair of shoes.

I foolishly ask, “That’s great honey. How much did they cost?” to which I get a reply like, “$365.” I look astonished and compound my ignorance by expressing, “That’s a deal?” to which I get the disdainful response that the shoes would’ve cost $1,475 if she’d bought them at Bloomingdale’s along with a huge, “Harrumph.”

Now, to be fair, this idea of “value” really works both ways. We men do believe that a big-screen TV is worth every bit of its $4,000 cost while the same amount spent on the aforementioned designer handbag makes absolutely no sense to us.

3.    Women make buying decisions based on appearances rather than what’s inside.

This one is the best irony of them all. Women will buy a car based on its appearance while men will actually care about its performance and what’s inside! Women will buy clothes just for the label. Men could care less. The list of these sorts of buying differences is endless.

The great irony of this male/female difference is that when it really counts, men are slugs. When choosing a partner, men will base their decision largely based on looks, at least initially. We all know men who married women exclusively for their looks or youth. Women are much smarter in this regard and marry men for their money! Ha ha.

What differences do you want to add? Where do you agree or disagree with my gender thinking? Share below!

Bruce Sallan

Bruce Sallan, author of The Empty-Nest Road Trip Blues: An Interactive Journal from A Dad's Point-of-View and A Dad’s Point-of-View: We ARE Half the Equation and radio host of “The Bruce Sallan Show – A Dad’s Point-of-View” gave up a long-term showbiz career to become a stay-at-home-dad. He has dedicated his new career to becoming the Dad advocate. He carries his mission with not only his books and radio show, but also his column A Dad’s Point-of-View, syndicated in over 100 newspapers and websites worldwide, and his dedication to his community on Facebook and Twitter. Join Bruce and his community each Thursday for #DadChat, from 6pm -7pm PST, the Tweet Chat that Bruce hosts.

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