Once you have kids, your bank accounts will never be the same. From child care to college, American parents spend, on average, over $233,000 raising a child from birth through age 17. While moms and dads are facing the same pile of bills, they often don’t see eye to eye on financial matters.
In lieu of Father’s Day, where spending falls $8 million behind Mother’s Day (sorry dads!), we’re breaking down the different spending habits of each parent:
Who pays the bills?
With 80% of mothers working full time, the days of traditional gender roles are behind us. As both parents share the task of caring for the children, they also both take on the burden of paying household bills. According to Pew Research, when asked to name their kids’ main financial provider, 45% of parents agreed they split the role equally.
Many partners are finding it more logical to evenly contribute to shared joint expenses to avoid fighting over finances. However, others feel costs should be divvied up according to how much each partner makes.
What do they splurge on?
While most parents agree that they rarely spend money on themselves, splurge items between moms and dads differ. When they do indulge, moms often purchase clothes, meals out and beauty treatments. Dads, on the other hand, are more likely to binge on gadgets and entertainment. According to a recent survey on millennial dads, there’s a strong correlation between the domestic tasks they’re taking on and how they’re spending their money. For instance, most dads are involved in buying their children’s books, toys and electronics, as well as footing the bill for their leisure activities.
Who are they more likely to spend on?
No parent wants to admit favoritism. However, research from the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that you’re more likely to spend money on your daughter if you’re a woman and more likely to spend on your son if you’re a man. The suggested reasoning behind this is that women can more easily identify with their daughters and men with their sons. Overall, parents today are spending more on their children than previous generations as the cost of having children in the U.S. has exponentially grown.
How are they spending?
When it comes to money management both moms and dads claim to be the “saver” and label the other as the “spender.” However, according to Experian research, there are financial health gaps between men and women, specifically when it pertains to credit. For example, women have 11% less average debt than men, a higher average VantageScore and the same revolving debt utilization of 30%. Even with more credit cards, women have fewer overall debts and are managing to pay those debts on time.
There’s no definite way to say whether moms are spending “better” than dads, or vice versa. Rather, each parent has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to allocating money and managing expenses. To gain better insight on the different ways consumers are spending money, consider Experian TAPSSM, which allows you to more accurately estimate consumer spend on all general-purpose credit and charge cards over the last 12 months.
Learn more about Experian TAPS
FAQs
The average spent by someone celebrating Mother's Day last year was $274.02, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). For Father's Day, it's up to $196.23.
Is it true or false overall fathers spend less time with their children than mothers? ›
According to a recent Pew Research survey, 46% of fathers say they spend too little time with their children, compared with 23% of mothers.
Why is mother's Day a bigger deal than father's Day? ›
Mother's Day Gets a Head Start
Another concept that may explain consumers' focus on spending more on Mother's Day than Father's Day is that they have had more exposure to the holiday. In 1908, Mother's Day was created in the United States while the creation of Father's Day followed behind in 1910.
What is true about the amount of time today's mothers spend with their children? ›
Analysis of time use data shows that fathers devote significantly less time than mothers to child care (an average of seven hours per week for fathers, compared with 14 hours per week for mothers). Among mothers, 68% say they spend the right amount of time with their children.
How much is spent on father's day? ›
Data from the National Retail Federation reveals that Americans are expected to spend approximately $22.4 billion on this Father's Day. This is the second highest spending recorded on Father's Day. Though, Americans have spent more purchasing gifts on Mother's Day in 2024 than the expected spending on Father's Day.
What is the average amount of money spent on mothers day? ›
The NRF reported that 84% of consumers plan to celebrate the holiday this year, spending an average of $254, down from $274 reported a year ago. NRF said the biggest spenders are between the ages of 35 and 44, who have budgeted $345 for their spending this Mother's Day.
What are the biggest differences between mothers and fathers? ›
Mothers offer security and are more nurturing. Fathers Offer more hands-on play and teach their kids to be more independent. Mothers are more repetitive to their kids to teach them new things. Dads show their kids things so that they learn.
Are moms or dads more important? ›
Neither parent is more important, and both are vital. What matters most is that both parents show up and stay involved. Both parents are indispensable and hugely important to kids through all stages of life. The true extent depends a great deal on the relationships and the people involved.
Who is more responsible for children mother or father? ›
Consistent with past surveys, perceptions of who does more when it comes to child care responsibilities differ by gender among married and cohabiting parents in opposite-sex relationships. Mothers tend to say they do more than their spouse or partner, while fathers tend to say they share responsibilities about equally.
Do mothers spend more time with children than fathers? ›
Fathers spent less time with children than mothers, both in terms of time spent on life and leisure and educational interactive time.
“Though recent years have changed this somewhat, Mother's Day is typically the busiest day of the year for restaurants—it tops even Valentine's Day. In 2024, an estimated 59 percent of people planned to spend money on a special outing such as brunch or dinner.”
Is mother's day really important? ›
Why do we celebrate Mother's Day? Mother's Day is an occasion which is celebrated in various parts of the world to express respect, honor, and love towards mothers. The day is an event to honor the contribution of mothers, acknowledge the efforts of maternal bonds and the role of mothers in our society.
Are parents spending less time with their kids? ›
Some studies suggest that fathers now spend 7 times as much time with their kids as they did 40 years ago. And even mothers are spending way more time with their kids today than they were 40 years ago … even though women's workplace participation has increased dramatically.
How much time do dads spend with their kids? ›
But the time spent by dads who live with their kids compared to those who don't is very different on average. Time diaries suggest fathers who don't live with their children spent about 36 minutes a week with them, compared to 7.8 hours a week for dads who did live with their children in 2021-2022 data.
Why is mom's time different from dad's time? ›
In 2011, the sociologists Shira Offer and Barbara Schneider found that mothers spend, on average, 10 extra hours a week multitasking than do fathers "and that these additional hours are mainly related to time spent on housework and child care."
What percent of father's day cards are purchased for fathers? ›
Father's Day is always celebrated on the third Sunday in June. Father's Day is the fourth-largest card-sending holiday in the United States, with 72 million cards exchanged annually. 50 percent of all Father's Day cards are purchased for dads.
Where does mother's day rank in terms of most popular holidays? ›
Depending on the country, Mother's Day is celebrated on many different days throughout the year. Mother's Day is the second most popular holiday for gift-giving, following Christmas. Hallmark began creating and producing Mother's Day cards in the early 1920s.
What is sold the most on mother's day? ›
Best Selling Mother's Day Gifts
- Engraved Best Mom Ever Musical Snow Globe. ...
- Engraved Scroll Heart Keepsake Box. ...
- Engraved Small Blush Leather Beauty Case. ...
- Engraved Heart Box and Small Metal Hoop Set. ...
- Engraved Corkcicle 12oz Stemless Wine Tumbler. ...
- Engraved Large Black Leather Beauty Case. ...
- Engraved Mom's Orchid Photo Snow Globe.
