How far would you go to collect $1 million? Do you show love and appreciation by buying big gifts? Is your wallet organized? Do you reconcile your bank statement every month? Would you marry for money? Would you burn up $10 in gasoline to save $5 at a sale? Can money buy love?
Answers to questions like these say a lot about what we value and what we don’t. In a new book, “Are You Normal About Money? Do You Behave Like Everyone Else?” (Bloomberg Press, $12.95), Bernice Kanner, a former marketing columnist, exposes Americans’ “most furtive desires, wacky habits and undiscovered attitudes toward the stuff we buy stuff with–moolah” by asking people all manner of questions about money.
The book is based on responses to an informal survey conducted over a year-and-a-half on Bloomberg.com.
Kanner, who lives in New York City, says that people lie about money (and their ages and weight) more than any other fact about themselves. Whether people lied in their answers to her questions, Kanner cannot say for sure. But this much is certain: Money has deep roots in the American psyche.
Differences in attitudes about money are more socioeconomic and age-related than gender-based, she says. “The Depression mentality has shaped a lot of people’s views much more than gender.”
Here are some gender-based observations from Kanner:
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Men and women
– Men think more about sex than money; women think more about money than sex.
– Men see money as a tool; women see it as security and independence.
– Women are considerably more likely to take home doggie bags; men are much likelier to eat them.
– Given a choice between a bargain and the best, women will choose the bargain.
His and hers
– Fifty-three percent of men and 34 percent of women say that if a woman earns more money, that spells trouble for the marriage.
– In 1 in 4 households, the woman does make more.
– Sixty-eight percent of women and 63 percent of men will not sign a prenuptial agreement.
– Thirty percent of people don’t know how much their husband or wife makes.
– Seventy-two percent of women handle the bills at home whether they work or not, but only 38 percent of women do the household budget.
– Women use shopping lists more than men.