Young married women take charge of household finances

Young married women are more likely to manage their household finances by themselves with little input from their spouses than men are, according to a survey by FindLaw.com.

The poll found that 37% of married women between the ages of 18 to 34 go solo on managing money, compared with 30% of young married men. And in many cases that arrangement seems to work just fine.

Kristen Fuhs Wells, of Indianapolis, says she became the money manager when she married her husband Benjamin more than two years ago. "He was still in college when we got married and he'd never had a checking account. I don't think he ever wanted to do the bills and I was fine with doing it."

Wells, 26, says she's definitely more knowledgeable about money than her husband, partly because he never had much money before they got married. While she doesn't have him on an allowance, Wells says she will let him know when they both need to cut back on their spending. "He's fine with it. It's kind of like out of sight, out of mind...we each have our own tasks. He takes out the trash. He does the yard work. I do the bills."

Splitting the household tasks was something Erin Beam, of San Francisco, says she and her husband actually discussed in premarital counseling. "Based on our strengths, we decided I would handle responsibilities such as the finances and he would handle tasks such as the cooking."