Money Strategies for Mr. Mom
Kelly Greene (2011, May 14). Money Strategies for Mr. Mom. Wall Street Journal.

Husbands and wives increasingly are switching the traditional roles of breadwinner and household manager. But many of them haven't followed through with an appropriate financial tune-up.

In recent decades, women have outpaced men in education and earnings growth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, some 29% of wives in dual-earner couples brought home more pay than their husbands in 2009, the most recent data available. That's almost double the 16% figure in 1988, when many of today's 4-year-olds were finishing high school.

With that shift in income, financial planners say they see more husbands supervising the home front. It's part of a long-term trend that appears to have been hastened by the recession. Although there is less social stigma than there once was—with "daddy play groups" proliferating—it is triggering money problems for some couples.

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The Social Security system can be complex. When should you take benefits? Should you draw from your benefits or your spouse's? Do you qualify for survivor's benefits? The questions go on and on. One item that a lot of people don't understand about Social Security benefits is whether or not they are included in your taxable income. It all depends on a lot of factors, but if you plan carefully, they can be more tax-free than taxing.

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Measure twice, cut once. Keep your eye on the ball. Nobody said life is fair. A little dirt never hurt anyone. Fathers sometimes give great advice—advice by which its wisdom is matched only by its terseness. Of the fatherly financial advice I have been given, some of the more significant that I have embraced, pearls that I hope to convey to my children, are: be diligent, plan ahead and be patient.

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