A Comment About

Ask Dr. Helen: When Wife Out-Earns Hubby

March 10, 2008 - 1:00 am - by Helen Smith
Todd
2008-03-10 08:11:34

When we were younger, my (not yet) wife made significantly more money than I did (at one point 25% more) and it was really never an issue. In fact I was proud that she was so successful. When we relocated to allow me to take a better job, she was actually able to stop working. She was never overly “into” her career so this was not a problem for her. Again, for me it was both a non-issue and a source of some pride that a woman that successful was into me.

A bit of advice would be to allow him to have some money of his own. Just as women don’t like to have to “ask” for money, neither do men. If you pool all your money, insist on an allowance for both of you. It does not need to be much but you both should have access to some money that you can spend on your own.