My World

One Agreement My Wife and I Made

When we first got married I was in charge of the financial parts of our marriage. I not only wasn’t very good at it. I was, in reality, very bad at it. I have this little problem. It is not that I like to shop; it is that I like to spend. I also didn’t take care of the bills. I might wait two or three months to get it done.

Now before I go on I just want to say to those of you that are questioning my manhood. I am a man. I care for my family and I protect them.

After about a year of this my wife asked me if she could take over. Did it bother me, no I was thrilled. Now the bills are paid on time. I get an allowance and so does she. She has handled the finances so well that we have been able to buy four homes. We have two cars. We have been able to put our daughters through two very good and expensive schools.

It is not that I have no input into our money situation. We discuss situations and then we both come to a decision. I am involved and I enjoy the discussion. If I lose, and I lose a lot, because she is much more intelligent than am I, it is no big deal. We are trying to arrive at the best decision for the two of us. My wife, Ellen, has just retired, and so our income has taken a hit. We are not trying to live on less. She is still in charge of the money, but all decisions are joint efforts. We will learn to live on less. This is something we can do.

For those of you who think I am a wuss, so be it. You have a right to your opinion. I just think times have changed and it is time that many of us realize that the old roles between men and women have changed, and not a moment too soon. Women are more than half of the population and just as intelligent if not more intelligent than men.  By most surveys they are better educated than men. 52% of all college graduates are women.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not choosing one gender over another. But I do believe at a minimum both genders are at least equal in most of the ways that count. So if I realized that I was screwing up our finances then why would I not turn it over to someone that would do it right.

After I retired and she was still working and  I did a lot of housework. I don’t think it is woman’s work. I don’t think there is such a thing as men’s work or women’s It is just work and someone has to do it. So if one of you is working full time and the other is not. Then it seemed reasonable for the non-working partner to do the bulk of the house work. I clean, I cook, I do laundry, I dust, and I even vacuum. It is not my favorite thing but then again, I don’t know anyone, man or woman that likes it. Again, I don’t think this has anything to do with my manhood. It does have something with being a caring and equal partner. It is about being an equal partner in a relationship.

So there you have it. Another day in Howie’s World.

Peace, howie