Ladies: Do you earn more than your hubby?

[cdrn1]

I was just glancing at an article in the weekend newspaper insert, addressing "pitfalls" that can occur when the wife earns more than the husband. In my household, it causes absolutely no issues (as far as I can tell). Granted, the disparity is not huge, but my hubby seems to have absolutely no qualms about it and does not appear to be threatened in the least. And I think I could tell; we have been married 35 years....so are we out of the ordinary? Who earns more in your relationship, and does it matter? Just curious...

 

[pixie dust 112]

I was just glancing at an article in the weekend newspaper insert, addressing "pitfalls" that can occur when the wife earns more than the husband. In my household, it causes absolutely no issues (as far as I can tell). Granted, the disparity is not huge, but my hubby seems to have absolutely no qualms about it and does not appear to be threatened in the least. And I think I could tell; we have been married 35 years....so are we out of the ordinary? Who earns more in your relationship, and does it matter? Just curious...

I earn about 50K more than my DH. Married 26 years, and tho we've had our issues, that has never been one of them.

 

[SydSim]

Most of the time. There were a few years where he earned more. Is it a problem.....not at ALL! But then again, I married the right man who could handle it! When we met, I was a single, childless woman in my twenties, making upper, middle class income. He lived at home with his mother and 4 siblings, living a life just a step above the poverty level. I grew up that way and thru my education, was able to live a different life. Once he was a part of it, he got to experience things that he never had before (like health insurance!)

Together, we make a nice living for the three of us and who brings in more income has never been a problem.

 

[wdwfan16]

We don't care who makes more. We just care that we are on the same page financially and we are.

 

[KatieA]

I used to make more than my husband. He would tell others that it didn't bother him but when we were along his words and actions made me think that deep down it really did bother him. Now I earn less than him and he doesn't like that either. It doesn't matter what I do, I can't win.

 

[LaraK]

When we married, my husband had the career and I had the job. Now it's reversed....we consider my career our household driver and he considers his job just a job. We're both fine with that. In fact, he wants me to make a little more so that he can be a house husband.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I do, he doesn't care.

 

[Gigi22]

I did for about 20 years. Now we are retired, my pension is larger. I don't think he minds one way or the other. Truthfully, sometimes it was hard bearing most of the stress from work and the financial load.

 

[ICF]

not a lady, but here is my input.....,

I make the most, but I wouldnt care one way or another. Of course, in our relationship there is no her money vs my money. It is all OUR money, so given that I really wish she were making more than I did as it would mean we had more money coming into the household.

If a couple kept everything seperate, I could see where it might cause issues.

 

[onelilspark]

I make less than my boyfriend, not a big deal. My Mom has always earned more than my Dad. It's never been a big deal for them. They're both successful in their chosen careers.

I would think it becomes an issue when the husband and wife are in the same field.

 

[scottishduffy]

I will graduate in about 6 months, I already have a job offer pulling in 3x what my husband earns. Even before I went back to school I earned more than him. No big deal, we both always knew I would be the primary income. It all goes to the same account and is "our" money.

Sometimes we crack jokes about him becoming a 'kept man'. It doesn't seem to bug him in the slightest.

Now, my lack of ability to perform housework does bother him. But that is why I earn enough to hire a maid!

 

[Acklander]

Currently I make more, but it's not a huge difference. There have been times that he's made more. We pool our money though so any extra money is all the better for us. It doesn't bother either one of us.

 

[mhsjax]

I don't, I am a SAHM, but I asked this question of him once. He looked at me like I had 3 heads and said anytime you can make more money than me, feel free. He would have no problem with it what so ever, and basically said that any man who did, wasn't very sure of himself as a man. Gee I love that guy.

 

[SAHDad]

I'll chime in as a guy - my wife earns substantially more than I do, and that has been the case for most of our marriage. When she was in grad school, we earned about the same, but once she had a real job, she earned much more than I did.

It never bothered me, and the fact that she earned much more (coupled with my apparent immunity to hour-long repitations of just the chorus to Small World) led to me being a stay at home dad.

 

[Kitzka]

I make about 3.5 times what DH makes. He does not care, I do not care. Like a PP Dh's job is just his job. He has it to help us pay the bills and allow us to live the lifestyle www live. My job is my career. After family its the most important thing in my life. For DH it's not even in the top 10.

But this is what works for us. There was only 1 year in our 11 year marriage where he made more than I did. Its never been an issue as it's our money.

Lara

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Another male checking in here. Throughout the 11 year duration of our relationship, both dating and marriage, we've been extremely fortunate and blessed to watch our incomes soar, and we both make what we consider to be insanely high incomes right now relative to our needs. When we first met she earned about $18K more than I did, then I received a major promotion about 6 months later and exceeded her salary by about $40K, then I actually switched employers and exceeded her by about $60K. Then she received a promotion, caught up and we were equal. When she was recruited to Iowa, she made a huge jump and I made a pretty much lateral salary move to the company I joined, so she's now about $40K ahead of me.

I would love her to make every penny she is entitled to, and as long as she's happy in her job, I hope she makes more than I do. But no job is worth any salary if it makes you unhappy, so we're both blessed to be in jobs that we truly love.

 

[crz4mm2]

MUCH more.

 

[DisneyFan06]

My wife currently makes more than me and there is no problem with that in our relationship.

 

[skuttle]

I make about twice as much as DH. It's never been an issue. We always knew it would be this way based on our career choices.

 

[cocodog]

Right now, I make about 2x what my husband earns. We are both on the technical side of the white collar spectrum. For 7 years, though, he encouraged me to be a SAHM, and he alone supported us. For a couple years after that, he 'allowed' me to work as a teacher assistant (for very little $$) in the school where our children were So, there has been much give & take and we are very blessed!