Gone are those days where women used to handle the household chores and men used to be the principal breadwinner.
Those were days when women had to bear and endure a lot because the man in the family was the sole breadwinner.
Image Source: Rodeime@Flickr
Today the scenario is quite different. These day women also work hand in hand with men and stand as equals in society. This greatly contributes to the woman’s status in the modern society.
In many cases, the man can’t be a principal breadwinner if he pursues the career he loves. It is not mandatory that such career options will be very high paying.
Very often, the male ego gets hurt when a wife earns more than him. In fact if such issues are not addressed on time, this can even ruin the whole institution of marriage.
Especially for young ambitious females, the probability of tracing an equal mate in terms of education and pay is close to impossible.
Dealing with professional and personal life at once is not everyone’s cup of tea. Women who are successful in their careers are usually not the submissive types and so may not be the best to pamper male ego.
This is where the trouble originates. If the problems are tackled wisely and at the very beginning, things may worsen further.
13 Best Ways to Deal with Women Earning More Than Men:
1. Speak Openly During Issues:
The best way to prevent or resolve any issue in marriage is to have an open line of communication.
In any marriage, the wages of the husband and wife are bound to be different. If you think your husband earns less and still spends too lavishly, you must reveal this fact to your husband.
Many times, men do not realize how much they spend and the impact it has on the financial planning of the family. If you make him aware of the facts, he will surely respond positively. He will try to curtail his expenses or at least justify them.
Many women do not bring these facts to the notice of the husband fearing his anger. They eventually have to face the outburst after all the losses.
To prevent that kind of financial muddle, it is a great idea to reveal the facts at the very beginning.
2. Use Your Earning To Manage Responsibilities:
More a wife earns, more she should be involved in all aspects of financial matters.
Most of the Indian women tend to go by the custom and put the entire financial burden on the husband even on occasions when they are earning much more than their husband. This eventually leads to conflicts.
On the contrary, women who earn better than their husbands, should voluntarily take up some of the household responsibilities.
There needs to be a proper financial planning that is based on mutual understanding. This is the best approach to achieve a stable personal life without conflicts when both husband and wife are earning.
3. Reveal Your Needs:
It is not that easy to guess what your spouse needs unless your spouse openly talks about it. It is always better to share your needs.
When you are planning the budget and the expenses, you need to make a list of all the things both the partners require. This way both the partners know each other’s needs and can help well in the entire planning process.
There are families where the wife earns more than the husband and there are fights regarding money management.
The fights are not a result of lack of money but a result of lack of understanding among the partners. They do not try to understand each other’s needs and this causes a hurdle in their relationship.
4. Financial Planning Counts:
Try to make a monthly budget for the home. By determining income, expenses and how much amount should be allocated to each of the partners, chart out the expense sheet.
You also need to prioritize the needs over the wants. Try and cut out the unnecessary expenses.
While you plan your finances, make sure you have a separate slot for savings. This is vital if you want to prevent wasting your income on tax.
Savings also help to make your future secure. Check out multiple options and then couples should together put a sum into different savings and investment options.
5. Take Out Personal Time:
Couples hardly find enough time to speak these days. This is a major cause of lack of understanding and increasing conflicts in families.
A little time together is a vital ingredient in building the stronger foundation for relationships.
You need to take an hour or two together to discuss out the different challenges you are facing. You must also discuss with each other while taking decisions that affect the life of both the partners.
6. Set Professional Goals As A Couple:
A reward system among the partners helps to keep the fun alive. You must together set professional goals.
In a pursuit to achieve these goals, you will put in much effort. This effort and the challenge associated with it is sure to help strengthen relationships.
Setting goals will help the couple be professionally successful. It will also help to develop a positive approach towards career and life.
7. Share Household Responsibilities:
A woman who earns more than her husband in her professional life, sure shoulders more responsibility in the office. This may make it difficult for her to shoulder all the household responsibilities equally well.
Husbands should volunteer to take up some of the household responsibilities. This will help to maintain the balance.
It is a good idea to occasionally shop for household goods or pick and drop children from school when your wife is held up in office. It doesn’t matter who earns more in a family, what is important is that the balance is maintained.
8. Outsource Domestic Chores if Required:
To keep the spirit of communication between spouses, it is always recommended to outsource certain household activities.
In a household where both the partners are working, it is difficult to do justice to household chores.
Hiring a housemaid and a cook can help to reduce the burden a little. You can then concentrate more on your career and try to advance your career to the next stage.
9. Spend Money Together:
Always be flexible about the expenses. You cannot decide where to spend the money you earn. After you start a family life, all the expenses should be mutually discussed and decided.
The best approach would be to club the entire sum and then bifurcate the money on different expenses.
10. Keep Your Mind Free From Ego:
Most often, when the wife earns more than the husband, there are ego clashes among the partners.
Men who are modern and who expect earning wives should be equally modern in their approach throughout.
When you keep your mind free from ego, the fact that your wife earns more than you will only make you proud. It will only make you happy and there will be really no cause of sorrow or conflict.
11. Don’t Stay Redundant with Culture:
There are many cultures that stick to the tradition where women manage the household and men manage the expenses.
These are households where women are not expected to earn and even if they do, their money is not counted as income. Such policies do not work in the modern households.
Today, as women work in all leading organizations earning high wages, such policies can prevent families from getting the best out of their household income.
It is high time you give up such redundant and senseless cultures and behave to suit the modern society.
12. Have Control on Luxuries:
Your priorities decide your lifestyle. If you spend immensely on luxuries while neglecting basic necessities, life can become difficult.
Couples should have good control on luxuries even when both the partners are earning decently.
Try to have a house of your own and secure your future before you waste money on other luxuries of life.
13. Don’t Classify Your Choices Based on Prices:
Very often people who are unable to live within their means are individuals who classify their needs or choices as per the price of the item.
These individuals who believe that a product is better because it is priced high. This is a wrong assumption and does not have any link to reality. You must classify things based purely on their quality.
To Wrap Up:
The modern world is offering countless opportunities to women to educate themselves and progress in their career and life.
The next generation is going to have more couples with women earning more than men. Knowing this fact and adjusting to this fact will ensure smooth relationships in future.
