How much do you know about your family finances?
There are many stay-athome partners who assume, or are given, the role of homemaker and child carer and effectively remove themselves from the financial role within the family.
According to Lisa Griffiths, a financial planner at BDO Wealth Advisors, she frequently encounters homemakers who are financially uninformed.
“Most homemakers that I chat to just simply do not have enough hours in the day to look after all of the needs of their family and stay on top of the family finances and remain versed in what is happening in the world of finance in general. These people prioritise their home and their family and if there is any time available, their own interests, or fun or socialising.”
Don’t be in the dark
Griffiths goes on to say that all too often she hears things like: “My partner pays the bills and handles all our finances and I feel shut out from money decisions.”.
“This can be a result of assumption of traditional roles or a power play by the breadwinner.” Griffiths clarifies that this is not a feminist issue – many stay at home partners are also men.
“An additional issue, especially for us baby boomers,” says Griffiths, “is that we were raised without those important money discussions. Money was a taboo subject in polite discussion.
“It was considered vulgar and crass. There were many taboo subjects that were not discussed with or in front of the kids or in company and money was pretty much top of the list, leaving us with dysfunctional ideas on finances.”
“Being left on one’s own can happen at any age,” warns Griffiths, who highlights an example of a client whose husband recently died without having a will in place.
“She has a three-year-old child and her late husband controlled all the finances. Now she has no access to money, she will have to get the consent of the executor of his estate (if he did leave a will and if she knows who it is with) to distribute funds to manage the household and for her child’s share in the estate which will be paid over to the Guardian’s Fund as the deceased did not leave a valid will.”