Morning Vibes With Dr. Jerry - the First - Episode 297/8 Ways Your Money Habits Are Ruining Your Relationship
Morning Vibes With Dr. Jerry - the First
Hello and welcome to
#MorningVibesWithDrJerryTheFirst-Episode 297
Title: 8 Ways Your
Money Habits Are Ruining Your Relationship
When it comes to love
and money, there are easily recognizable habits that can torpedo your
relationship's chance of success.
“Incompatibility in
finances can be a deal breaker,” said April Masini, relationship expert
and founder of relationship advice forum AskApril.com. “Spenders and
savers have to find middle ground. Earners and unemployed people have to find
common ground.”
In its 2016
Love and Money survey, TD Bank asked
1,902 respondents currently in relationships questions about money and
relationships.
“This survey helps us
better understand how couples discuss and manage money and what impact that has
on their overall happiness in their relationship,” said Ryan Bailey, head
of consumer deposits, payments and personal lending at TD Bank.
The survey revealed
that happy couples’ money habits are notably different from those who are
unhappy.
And, the bad money
habits could lead to hardships down the line — and possibly a
breakup.
Find out how these
eight bad habits could be ruining your relationship.
1. Avoiding
Money Conversations
When you don’t talk about
money with your significant other, you could be putting your relationship's
happiness at risk.
According to TD Bank’s
survey findings, happier respondents spoke more often about money than
respondents who talked about it less often.
For example, 78 percent of
respondents who discuss money at least once a week say they are happy in their
relationship. In comparison, only 50 percent of respondents who talk about
money less than every few months say they are happy.
Part of the reason talking
and sharing your feelings about money with your partner could make you happier
is because you’ll naturally start sharing your personal goals and feelings that
are unrelated to finances.
“It’s very easy for
couples to unravel and live separate lives when they don't have common goals and
activities,” said Masini. “Money is a handy platform to get to know each other,
work with each other and overcome differences — about money and the items and
dreams that the money supports.”
2. Waiting
Too Long to Discuss Money
A person’s money habits
give you an idea of what life choices they make, said Masini — which
is why it’s important to talk about money with someone you’re dating earlier on
in the relationship rather than later.
“If someone chooses to
work hard to afford a fancy home, that’s a choice that’s different than someone
who works hard to afford a healthy retirement but lives in a modest home to
support that goal,” she said. “Someone who spends freely may be generous — or
sloppy. And someone who saves eagerly may be resourceful, or stingy.”
If you delay talking about
money with a potential significant other, you might regret it later.
In the TD Bank Love and
Money survey, 24 percent of all respondents said that putting off money
conversations was their biggest money mistake. And of the “happy” respondents,
20 percent said waiting too long to talk about money was their biggest
financial mistake in a relationship.
3. Keeping
Separate Bank Accounts
The expression “sharing is
caring” might sound childish, but sharing money is an important ingredient to a
happy relationship. Long gone are the days when one person handled all of the
finances in a relationship or household.
“There are very few people
who feel that one partner should handle the money on their own anymore,” said
Masini. “That model has left the building. People want to share the
responsibilities and planning of finances as a couple.”
In fact, couples who keep
their money entirely separate reported less happiness than couples who shared
some or all of their money, found the TD Bank survey. Eighty-six percent of
“happy” respondents said they combine at least some of their money versus 14
percent of “happy” respondents who don’t.
Even sharing just one bank
account can make a big difference; 61 percent of “happy” respondents share at
least one bank account versus only 21 percent who have only separate
accounts.
So, you might want to
consider opening a joint bank account with your significant other.
4. Using
Separate Credit Cards
Instead of only using
separate credit cards, consider sharing one with your partner. Similar to bank
accounts, sharing credit cards seems to be an important part of happy
relationships.
Nearly 50 percent of
couples share at least one credit card, found the TD Bank survey. And, those
who shared credit cards reported higher levels of happiness than couples
who did not.
“The more financial
resources couples share,” added Bailey, “the more they feel like they are
working together as a team towards common goals.”
And by sharing credit
cards, you and your partner can keep each other accountable for purchases and
help each other reach financial goals.
“The modern couple creates
a dual bucket list and plans on how to meet those wish list goals,” said
Masini. “And because most couples have double incomes, both parties in
relationships feel that they want to be involved and know how their money is
going towards investments, retirement, home savings, mortgage payoffs and
more.”
5. Not
Budgeting for Gifts
Surprise presents can put
a smile on your partner’s face. “Gift giving is usually positive in
relationships — especially in the early phases of a relationship where
gift giving is perceived as caring for a person,” said Masini. “Someone who
gives gifts is typically generous, and this generosity becomes apparent in
other arenas of a relationship, but it will first show up in simple gift
giving.”
However, it’s best to have
a budget in place before buying a gift. Nearly one-quarter of “happy”
respondents in the TD Bank survey said they specifically set aside money to
budget or save up for a gift. Meanwhile, only small percentages of happy
couples pay for gifts by winging it, such as using a financial windfall or
forgoing other expenses.
6. Neglecting
to Save Up for Vacations
Paying for vacations is
similar to buying gifts: the more budget planning, the better. Couples who
didn’t specifically budget for vacation costs reported lower levels of
relationship happiness, found the survey.
Only 18 percent of “happy”
respondents use a credit card to cover expenses and pay later, while only 6
percent of “happy” couples use a financial windfall and 4 percent sacrificed
other costs to pay for a vacation.
You don’t want to neglect
saving up for a vacation because it plays such an important role in mental
health.
“So many of us take work
home and into bed — literally — with us,” said Masini. “Technology linking us
to work and obligations is…pretty much everywhere, giving us opportunity to
work — and stress out. Vacations are important to mental health for
individuals, couples and families — and budgeting and prioritizing
vacation finances will absolutely create happiness in relationships.”
7. Hiding a
Financial Secret
Secrecy is rarely a good
thing in a relationship, and most couples — 90 percent of “happy” respondents —
said they aren’t keeping a financial secret. Still, 11 percent of “happy”
respondents, the second-highest percentage, said their biggest money mistake
was keeping a money secret.
“One in 10 said they would
consider breaking up with someone if they discovered a financial secret,”
said Bailey. “And millennials are even less forgiving: one in five say they
would end a relationship if they found out their significant other was hiding a
financial secret.”
“Secret purchases can be
no big deal (shoes) or a very big deal (cars), depending on a couple’s income
and the frequency of these secret purchases,” added Masini.
However, Masini said
financial secrets that involve spending money on someone outside of your
relationship can be the most damaging. “Typically, this is money lent to an ex
or given to children from a previous marriage, secretly, because the giver
knows for a fact their partner will hit the roof and say ‘no’ if he or she
finds out — which they typically do,” she said.
Another harmful secret is
planning or creating a hidden stash of money intended for escaping from a
relationship.
“Secret bank accounts, or
real estate not revealed, are secrets that really affect trust in a
relationship and the true level of intimacy in that relationship,” said Masini.
“The damage is never about the money — it’s about the secret. The money is a
tool. The secret is the damaging dynamic.”
8. Racking
Up Significant Credit Card Debt
Carrying a lot of credit
card debt likely won’t score you any points with a potential partner. Just
under half of all survey respondents said they’d be less likely to date someone
with significant credit card debt. Equally important: 40 percent of “happy”
respondents said they would also be less likely to date a credit card-indebted
person.
Interestingly, the TD Bank
survey found that having student loan debt isn’t as big of a deal breaker as
having credit card debt.
“Credit card debt is
different than student loan debt because credit card debt is the accumulation
of day-to-day decisions over the course of years,” said Bailey. “Student loan
debt is the accumulation of one or two decisions to finance education with
loans.”
For example, amassing
credit card debt paying for daily lattes is not the same as making an
investment in your future with a student loan. This is why credit card debt
reflects a person’s financial behaviors concerning spending and debt
accumulation better than student loan liability.
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Source: Go Banking Rates
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