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Women controlling family money

By Carla Bevan on Friday 7 March 2008

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Money

Do you look after your family's finances? If you do, you're not alone.

According to new research, more and more women are controlling the purse strings in their households, despite the fact that men continue to earn more, especially when it comes to big financial decisions.

Even in areas where women don't get the final say, they have at least an equal voice, especially in areas such as holidays, moving home and family days out.

In fact, the only areas where men put their foot down are electrical goods, cars and DIY.

'Although men are generally the main income earners in a family, it is fascinating to see that most financial decisions are actually made jointly by both the mother and the father,' Gary Lacey, the group product manager at Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, which conducted the research, says.

'Indeed, this puts the myth of the father as the financial head of the family to rest.

'In addition, while men rarely appear to have the final say in matters of finance, women often step up to make the day-to-day decisions with regards to spending on their homes and children.

'This may be due to the fact that they are the main care givers or - possibly - because mother often knows best.'