There have been a lot of reports about which group of people have been hit hardest by the recession. Men have definitely been hit disproportionately hard by job losses. In fact, men held 71.9% of the jobs lost since the recession began, hurt by mass layoffs in construction and manufacturing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I've even written about how more households are relying on female breadwinners after husbands were laid off.

But single women -- many of whom are mothers or caregivers -- who get laid off don't have a second income to rely on while they hunt for a new job.

In honor of Veteran's Day, three restaurant chains are offering free meals to members of the military and veterans.

McCormick & Schmick's is having its 11th Annual Veterans Appreciation Event on Sunday, Nov. 8. Veterans can receive a free lunch or dinner entree when they show the proper ID. Space is limited and reservations are required.

You can get a free individual pizza or entree at Uno Chicago Grill on Monday, Nov. 11. The offer is good with a purchase of equal or greater value. Just wear a uniform, bring a picture of you in uniform, or show a military or veteran's ID to qualify.

Golden Corral is offering a free "Thank You" dinner on Monday, Nov. 16, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at all restaurants. Anyone who has ever served in the U.S. military can receive a free meal, and no identification is required.

About 15 bridal salons around the U.S. are offering free wedding gowns to military brides next week through the Brides Across America event.

The gowns are being given away on a first come, first serve basis and are valued at between $500 to $3,000. Most are samples or overstocks between sizes 4 to 22, but selections vary from salon to salon.

To qualify for the giveaway you must be engaged, on active duty in the military, and have been deployed or will be deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq. You also qualify if your fiance is on active military duty in those countries. If you've already been married by a justice of the peace but are planning an upcoming wedding, you may still qualify for a free gown.

When you visit the bridal salon you'll need to show an ID, copy of deployment papers for you or your finance, orders or other qualifying proof.

Each salon has a limited number of dresses to give away, so get there early or you'll be put on a waiting list for future events.

The dates and times vary, so check the Brides Across America site to find a location near you.

Would you know the signs to look for if your spouse were cheating on you?

WalletPop talks to infidelity expert Ruth Houston about some of the financial signs of a cheating spouse. Whether it's mysterious charges on a credit card statement or hidden assets, cheating spouses often leave a financial trail, says Houston, the author of "Is He Cheating on You? 829 Telltale Signs." Among the telltale signs are increases in ATM withdrawals and dwindling bank accounts.

For more tips on detecting financial infidelity, check out WalletPop Radio on BlogTalk Radio:

Did you know that women make up 70% of the world's population living in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day? Or that women produce 60% to 80% of the world's food, but hold down only 1% of the world's land and 10% of the world's wealth? Despite these statistics, women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs and professionals in the world.

The role of women in the global economy is the focus of a new, free online exhibit called "Economica: Women and the Global Economy." The multimedia exploration of women's lives around the world is part of the International Museum of Women (IMOW), an online social change museum.

Half of U.S. workers are women and there are about 10.1 million businesses owned by females, according to the Shriver Report. Those companies employ about 23 million people and earn a combined revenue of $3 trillion.

But only 3% of businesses owned by women in the U.S. actually have revenue of $1 million, compared with 6% to 7% of companies owned by men, according to the Center for Women's Business Research.

In fact, 75% of all women-owned businesses in the U.S. have annual revenue of $50,000 or less.

Nell Merlino, president of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence and creator of "Take Our Daughters to Work Day," said in an interview that there are several reasons many women-owned companies struggle to break past the $50,000 level.

The recession has exposed America's dirty secret that many Americans are financially illiterate. And it would be difficult to find someone who doesn't agree that Americans could use more financial education at the student and adult levels.

There are a variety of Web sites aimed at improving financial literacy in America, but one new site hopes to go beyond offering the usual tools for learning to budget, paying off debt, boosting savings, etc. GetFinancialFinesse.org hopes to equip people with tools to clean up their own finances and get involved in efforts to improve financial literacy in their communities. The site is operated by Financial Finesse, a financial education company.

Young married women are more likely to manage their household finances by themselves with little input from their spouses than men are, according to a survey by FindLaw.com.

The poll found that 37% of married women between the ages of 18 to 34 go solo on managing money, compared with 30% of young married men. And in many cases that arrangement seems to work just fine.

Kristen Fuhs Wells, of Indianapolis, says she became the money manager when she married her husband Benjamin more than two years ago. "He was still in college when we got married and he'd never had a checking account. I don't think he ever wanted to do the bills and I was fine with doing it."

Wells, 26, says she's definitely more knowledgeable about money than her husband, partly because he never had much money before they got married. While she doesn't have him on an allowance, Wells says she will let him know when they both need to cut back on their spending. "He's fine with it. It's kind of like out of sight, out of mind...we each have our own tasks. He takes out the trash. He does the yard work. I do the bills."

Splitting the household tasks was something Erin Beam, of San Francisco, says she and her husband actually discussed in premarital counseling. "Based on our strengths, we decided I would handle responsibilities such as the finances and he would handle tasks such as the cooking."

Meghann Reed recently returned to the workforce as an event consultant after a stint as a stay-at-home mom. Although she'd planned to continue caring for her two daughters full-time, family finances pushed her back to work. Like many women, the Corning, N.Y., woman is conflicted about being a working mom and sometimes feels guilty or angry about the thought of leaving her children, Mykaela and Savannah.

"In a perfect world I would be a stay-at-home mom until both of my girls were in school. In fact, I would love to have a third, but have that on the back burner for now because I would want to stay home for the first year and at the moment it wouldn't be possible," Reed says. "My 2-year-old still cries every day when I leave and my 3-year old has become very clingy. It isn't easy."

We all have probably done some dumb things with our money at some point.

Men and women relate to money differently, so we don't always handle it in the same way.

Women are more likely than men to let their emotions influence how they handle money. That emotional spending can even result in women letting their feelings for a man (or attemps to snag a man) get in the way of making smart financial choices.

Here are 10 mistakes women make with money when dating: