Trek- Your post brings up and excellent point and something I am trying to do with my husband. He would have no clue where to send bills if I were gone. He takes for granted he has a serious disease (but rarely fatal) and men in him family tend to not see 70 while women in mine live to be 85-90+. He just thinks he will no way outlive me and he definitely doesn't need to worry about it at 28.

My Pawpaw died 5 years ago very suddenly of a heart attack, yet he knew his heart was failing for 5 years. Still he sheltered my Nanny and took care of everything for them. She was a high level manager at her company yet didn't ever do a thing for their own finances. When we moved her to assisted living this summer and my Dad became her power of attorney he found she had buil a massive credit card debt but had a sizeable amount of money in her bank account. She had the cards on autopayment and had no clue how much money she had in the bank. Before the alzheimers started she probably couldn't have balanced a check book if she had to.

My mom's mother was perfectly capable of taking on her house and bills when she was widowed even more suddenly. She was used to it because my Pawpaw was an interstate trucker but he still took care of things for her. The woman is so smart it is scary and so strong I can only hope to be half the woman she is. At 90 years old she is still paying her insurance, taxes, phone bills all on her own. And she balances her checkbook too.

Some of it may be generational but these two women are night and day on strength. Both are smart but only one knows it.