Sixty two percent of women in Munster take care of the everyday budgeting in households which is higher than the Irish average with men in the region making the big financial decisions.
In a survey of 1000 Irish adults across the country, commissioned by Central Bank regulated renewable energy fund provider Greenroom Investments and conducted by iReach it was revealed that while Ireland still holds on to some of the traditionalist views when it comes to financial decisions in the family home, almost two thirds of couples now make their big decisions together.
The survey looked at the differences in the decision making process between small and big ticket items. Experts at Greenroom say that the results support anecdotal evidence from the broker market who have reported that in their everyday dealings with people making financial decisions, Irish people have a healthy attitude towards big decisions and that people are taking more ownership of their personal finances and are approaching decisions with care and consideration.
Speaking of the findings Sandra Donovan, Director at Greenroom Investments, “Ireland’s landscape in terms of households has changed rapidly over the last few decades – and no-one has escaped the sting of the hardships of the last few years. In our experience, a repercussion of the financial crisis has been that Irish people are taking a much greater interest in their personal finances – they are educating themselves on mortgages, pensions, insurance, investments etc. Our survey reflects this to some extent in the sense that there is a trend of joined up thinking amongst Irish couples towards big financial decisions”.
However, while big decisions get both male and female participation, the Greenroom Investments survey also revealed that 7 in 10 women say that they definitely take the lead in the day to day finances, but there is significant disagreement between the sexes with only 4 in 10 men agreeing that women are the household purchase manager.
Sandra went on to say, “This is an interesting element of the survey – while it’s commendable that most couples take a joint approach to big decisions – it’s curious that the smaller decisions in relation to finances are often left up to the female side of the partnership. Perhaps it’s just a habit of the Irish psyche that has yet to be broken – or perhaps it’s just that women are better at balancing the household books.”
Other findings included; 62% of couples make big purchase decisions together, 31% of mature adults hold the view that men are responsible for making the big financial calls with 8% of the older generation saying women have a bigger say. There’s a divide between gender with both believing they have greater influence. Women feel dominant in the day to day decisions as 70% state that they take the lead with these decisions