Only one in three dads feel in control of their finances, finds the Money and Pensions Service

• Only one in three dads feel in control of their finances, and one in five men report feeling anxious around their financial situation. 
• If you feel that way, you're not alone. Our free and impartial MoneyHelperOpens in a new window service can support parents and parents-to-be with free tools and guidance around how to have money conversations.  
• “I feel the pressure to be the breadwinner”, say dads Paul Rhodes and Nathan Boorman. 
• Research also shows that single dads and LGBTQ+ families face pressures when it comes to money.

According to MaPS’ Debt Need Survey 2023, less than half of men say they feel in control of their financial situation (47%). This number was lower when looking specifically at dads, however, with only just over one in three dads (35%) saying they feel in control of their financial situation.

It also found that one in five men (20%) said that thinking about their financial situation made them feel anxious.

Paul Rhodes, Senior Manager at MaPS, co-founder of Fathercraft UK and dad of two says:

“There can be a pressure to provide and it can feel like it’s your responsibility to be the breadwinner for your family.”

As MaPS shines a spotlight on men's relationship with money and offers guidance to support them through MoneyHelper, Dr Hayley James, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing at Aston University, further advocates the need for support for men and dads. 

Dr James researches the relationships between gender and money, and comments: 

“There can be a pressure on men to feel like they must know what they’re doing with money management – especially in financially planning for your family’s future with things like investing. 

“This can then be followed by finding it hard to admit that you may not understand money as well as you ‘should’. Men can then subsequently feel as though they aren’t properly ‘playing the role’ of looking after the family’s financial future.”

There is also a stigma around men not wanting to talk about money, which can be due to the personal pressure to live up to a societal expectation of being ‘the breadwinner’, but also because of how men might mirror their own parents or role models’ attitudes towards money.

Nathan Boorman, founder of Official Dad Bag and dad of two agrees, saying:

“As a man, I do definitely feel like there is pressure to be the breadwinner. It feels like caveman instincts that I’m the one who should go out and ‘hunt’, get the food and make sure I’m taking care of my family.

“Ever since we had our children quite young, I’ve felt like it’s my responsibility to make sure the bills are paid and the babies are fed.”

“It can be incredibly hard to hold your hands up and say if you’re struggling with money”, says Paul.

Nathan similarly says “If I was struggling with money I don’t think I would talk about it with my friends. As a man I feel like I’m meant to provide and would feel too proud to admit anything else – it would definitely be something I’d be embarrassed about.” 

“The best way to overcome gendered stereotypes around money and the pressures that men and dads can face is to have good conversations with your partner” says Dr Hayley James. “A consequence of splitting up household responsibilities is that we don’t always understand the pressure even our closest family members feel about finances.”

Allison Barnes, Gender Lead at MaPS says:

“Men can feel under pressure to be in control of their family’s financial situation. 

“But family money management can be something that the whole family talks about together to avoid it feeling like the burden one person has to carry.

“And around Father’s Day it would be great to see more men talking about money to open the conversation and tackle the taboo around it.

“For anyone struggling with money management, MoneyHelper has lots of free and impartial guides that can support at every stage of life."

MoneyHelper has free guidance on starting conversations about money, including how to talk to your partner about money – for those important family conversations, and how to talk to your friends about money to establish a space for men to be honest with each other.

MoneyHelperOpens in a new window has free guidance on starting conversations about money, including how to talk to your partner about moneyOpens in a new window for those important family conversations, and how to talk to your friends about moneyOpens in a new window to establish a space for men to be honest with each other.

MoneyHelper also provides support for parents and parents-to-be, including pages on money managementOpens in a new window, becoming a parentOpens in a new window, or help with childcare costsOpens in a new window. 

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Available for interview

The following people are available for interview upon request:

• Nathan Boorman, dad of two and founder of Official Dad Bag.
• Paul Rhodes, MaPS Senior Manager, dad of two, and founder of Fathercraft UK.
• Allison Barnes, Gender Lead at MaPS.

Notes on Money and Pensions Service Debt Need Survey 2023 results 

• The Money and Pensions Service Debt Need Survey 2023 interviewed a nationally representative sample of adults aged 18+. Of these 10,267 were men. 
• We asked everyone to tell us how much the statement “Thinking about my financial situation makes me anxious” applies to them on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 meant “Does not sound like me at all” and 10 meant “Sounds a lot like me”. 20% of men gave a score of 8, 9 or 10 indicating that they are anxious about their financial situation.