A surprising amount of couples aren’t talking about money and debt issues
By Newinhomes on Jul 30, 2018
Manulife Bank of Canada recently commissioned Ipsos to conduct a survey about financial issues at home and confiding in a significant other. The results are shocking and unsurprising at the same time.
2,003 Canadians across all provinces were surveyed in May 2018. All respondents were between the ages of 20 and 69, and had a household income of more than $40,000.
Only 40% of married or common law Canadians often talk about money with their partner, and 50% say these conversations cause tension within the relationship. 20% simply ignore these types of conversations and money issues completely, which can’t be healthy.
Have you ever hidden the cost of something from your loved one? If so, you’re among the 10% who confessed to doing so. An additional 10% say they have lied to their partner about the cost of something.
How big of a purchase have you hidden? Hopefully it doesn’t beat this stat: 8% of men have hidden a purchase of $15,000 or more from their partner! How does a purchase this size fly under the radar? It can’t be easy to hide. Also, men under the age of 35 are most likely to hide debt.
Clearly, not enough Canadians feel comfortable confiding in their partners about money issues. When you’re in a relationship, you’re partners, so you share money and you share debt. So, you should definitely be having conversations about it and feel like you can bring it up without causing tension.
40% of Canadians said that not talking about their financial woes with their partner has had negative effects on their mental health.
“Conversations around money and debt can be one of the most difficult things couples ever discuss,” says Rick Lunny, President and CEO, Manulife Bank. “The trick is to get these issues out in the open and having an open and frank discussion about them.”
If you’re saving to buy a home and you plan on both contributing to the purchase, then you definitely need to be discussing your finances. It’s all going to come out when you go to a lender to get pre-approval. Your credit score, your student debt, credit card debt, phone bills, your investments, your cash – everything.
It’s best if you have a conversation with your partner about everything before visiting the lender so you’re both on the same page and can work as a team to get the best pre-approval possible.
