Forget shoe shopping! Men are bigger over-spenders than women, survey finds

There are some funny stereotypes around women and money. The ladies have traditionally been seen as the sensible keepers of the household budget. But at the same time they’re often caricatured as incurable spendthrifts when it comes to shoes or handbags.

But a new survey follows others that have shown the former is the truth, not the latter. According to a study conducted by UK brokerage eToro, husbands no longer have a reason to blame their wives for the drop in the communal savings pot, as women are in fact, better at keeping track of their spending.

The survey of 2,000 adults found women had a better grip on how to manage their money and were far more likely to know exactly how much was in their savings and current accounts. Men were the ones more likely to pull out the credit card and purchase something on impulse.

The same survey also revealed that a surprising 15 per cent of people had absolutely no idea of their bank balance. But on the plus side, 41 per cent claimed they did their best to manage their funds by regularly setting a budget.

Despite the long-running silly spender stereotype, that women are better than men when it comes to managing money isn’t a particularly new one. Research from 2014 found men typically built up significantly more debt than women.

The research conducted by credit-scoring giant Experian and published by US financial house Bankrate said this was due to the fact that men tended to wait much longer than women to ask for help when in financial difficulty, in the meantime spiralling further into debt.

Th researchers found that 5.7 percent of men fell 60 days or more behind on their mortgage payments, against 5.3 percent of women. Bankrate attributed this to the fact that women were often the ones keeping an eye on the family’s funds because they were responsible for paying the bills and purchasing household items

“We often see the women will do almost anything to keep the household afloat,” American Financial Solutions credit counsellor Lea Loethen told Bankrate. “He, on the other hand, seemed to wait to seek help until just before the creditors showed up at the door.”

Who manages the finances in your household? Are you surprised by the survey results?

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your financial or legal situation, objectives or needs. That means it’s not financial product or legal advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a financial or legal decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get independent, licensed financial services or legal advice.