Good Question: Who Manages Money Better, Men Or Women?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Managing money is the top thing couples fight about. And research shows that men and women have different habits, different styles of dealing with money.

Nicole Middendorf owns Prosperwell Financial. She thinks women get a bad rap, especially when it comes to spending.

"Men and women spend a lot of money," she said .

But a 2011 Gallup poll showed that men spend $11 more a day than women.

What about financial literacy?

One researcher asked: Does buying a single company's stock usually provide a safer return than a stock mutual fund?  Those questioned were given three choices: (1) Yes.  (2) No.  (3) I Don't Know.

The answer is No.

Men got it right 57 percent of the time. Women, just 47 percent.

But the women clicked and admitted they didn't know no often.

"And when they took out the don't know, it was fairly equal. I think a lot of it was confidence [issues] for women," Middendorf said.

One researcher analyzed 50,000 investment accounts and sorted it by gender.

"Women on average earn 5 percent more in their accounts than men," Middendorf said.

There is one area of concern, where women are behind men, and that comes in investing in retirement accounts.

Forty-four percent of women are in their 401ks, compared to 51 percent of men.

Women tend to invest later, and they invest less.