How to Hide Money From Your Husband: The Best Kept Secret of Marriage by Heidi Evans

by Heidi Evans

When Heidi Evans's ninety-one-year-old aunt died, her sons were dumbstruck to discover a bankbook with a balance of $50,000 hidden in her top drawer. She had been a devoted housewife and mother all of her adult life -- so where had the money come from? But the women in the family just smiled. They knew. Like generations of women, Aunt Lee had been building a nest egg, stashing away a few dollars a week from her household allowance (and maybe sometimes from Uncle Irving's pockets) so that she could have a little money of her very own -- for a rainy day, for her kids, or just to pay for her dreams.Now Evans revives this age-old practice of stowing away money and shows women of all ages how a nest egg can make marriage more secure and more fun, and divorce or widowhood less devastating. This award-winning journalist shows us just how the nest egg works by introducing us to a fascinating variety of women whose marriages have been marked by the war over money. These intimate and revealing stories give us a clear view of the financial landscape within marriage today, from relationships in which men control the money -- and their wives -- to families in which women can openly save their own money for the years ahead.And so we meet Veronica, a hair colorist in her twenties who stashes $20 a day from her tips so she can pay for the little luxuries she and her new husband would like. And Meryl, whose husband left her for a younger woman after twenty-five years of marriage and who now finds that divorce has generated a desperate need for private savings. Later, we meet Irene, a seventy-seven-year-old for whom early widowhood might have meant poverty for her and her sons if she hadn't been so smart about creating a nest egg.The age-old tradition of the nest egg has become more important for women than ever. Indeed, financial security is the number-one problem facing women today, in and out of marriage. Women are still earning only 76 cents to every dollar earned by men and champing at the bit to have equal footing -- or at least the ability to buy that third pair of black pumps without an argument. What to do? Save a little for yourself...with the full knowledge of your husband (if you can) or on the sly (if you must). Whether you pick your husband's pockets or work like a dog for your own paycheck, money is marriage insurance, and it's nonnegotiable.So what are you waiting for?

Paperback

First published November 29, 1999

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a strong illustration of how helpful a nest egg could be for women in dissolving marriages. It also showed how important it is for women to learn how to deal with all matters financial, including learning to invest.
When my father left my mother, she was not only devastated she was left nearly destitute with no way of earning enough to support herself while my father had squirreled money away for years. If she had read and followed some of the suggestions here, she might not be so bitter now about what she was cheated out of financially.
This book definitely looks at the negative of money and relationships. The plus side is if you don't need it to survive an ending relationship, it is always there as bonus cash for any extras you might want.
Not a happiness and flowers read, but some of the suggestions are priceless if they are followed.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/3...

[Alison Moxley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the library because I thought it was a joke. But yes, the entire book is about to hide money from your husband. I guess it's helpful. My only gripe is that it casts husbands as manipulative, conniving control freaks, but I guess if you have that type of husband, this info is pretty spot-on.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it would a funny book, tongue in cheek humor but it was actually a serious, insightful and informative book that every woman should read. .. Whether she is in a good marriage or not. You can save for a sunny day as well as you can for s rainy one.

[Sarah Sargent]

This can also be applied to husband's whose wives control the money. very common these days