HCW Women do you know where your money is going?

I have a passion, a passion to get the word out to women that they need to know where thier household money is going. I hear too many stories of women, mostly SAHM's who let thier husbands take over the finances and they don't know what the bills are, what the balance is in thier checking accounts, or anything about thier money.

And yes even if you don't earn the money and are a SAHM or SAHW it is YOUR MONEY TOO and you have the right to know where it is and where it is going.

Knowing where it is going is not to say that your spouse is not doing things right. But I hear so many times of women who get shocked when they find out that thier husband has a drug, drinking, gambling, or women problem and find out that he has wiped out thier bank account. Or he leaves the family or passes away and there is nothing.

You husband may be a great, wonderful and responsible man (and I hope he is) but lets face it death is a reality for everyone of us. Should your husband pass away are you 100% that you and your family will be taken care of. Will you even know what money you have?

I challenge all of you out there to take some steps on knowing where your money is. Ask yourself and your spouse the following questions:

• What are the account numbers for any checking, savings, or investment accounts that we have open.
• At least once a month check your balances on your accounts. Check for fraud, check for weird transactions. You can check your paper bank statement or most banks allow you to view your statements online.
• Make sure your name is on your families bank accounts. Get it on your checking account and savings accounts. Remember this is your money too.
• Get in the know on any insurance policies. Auto, home, renter, life, etc. Make sure you know where the policies are kept in the house should you need them if your spouse passes away.
• Find out what kind of retirement savings your spouse has. And check those balances as well periodically.
• Check YOUR credit report once a year. Even if you have no credit accounts in your name. Some spouses have been known to open credit accounts in thier wives names and the wife does not know about it till something bad happens and finds out that she has credit cards in her name that her DH has maxed out.

If your spouse balks at you knowing this information, ask yourself why. What is he hiding? Or what is he afraid of?

Women do not play a fool when it comes to money. I know that it can be easier to just have your spouse to take care of everything. After-all we have houses to keep, kids to raise, pets to feed, and husbands to love and everything else that falls on a woman's shoulders. But being in the dark about money can cost you.

One of my best friends learned this the hard way when she found out that her husband had a gambling problem and he left her. Only then did she find out that he had wiped out thier checking and savings account. Stole from the kids' college savings accounts, and opened credit cards in her name to the tune of $15,000. And he had not paid the mortgage or any other bills in 6 months. When she told me this I was of course sorry that this had to happen to such a great person. But then I had to wonder why she did not catch on to her husbands problem earlier? The reason was because she did not know where her money was going.