When it comes to finances and relationships, Canadians insist on two things: being with a partner who shares a similar outlook on money (90%) and knowing about their partner’s finances, including income, debt and investments (87%), finds an ING DIRECT study.
Also, 60% identify themselves as savers. Within this group, 58% wouldn’t consider marriage or a long-term relationship with someone who identified themself as a spender.
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And among the 40% who call themselves spenders, 87% would enter into a relationship with a saver.
“Making time to talk about money and finances is an important part of any long-term relationship, even more so if couples are financial opposites,” says Andrew Zimakas, chief marketing officer at ING DIRECT. “If couples make this part of their regular dialogue and share in decisions about their financial wellbeing, they will be in a better position to manage any issues that may arise.”
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Additional findings include:
- 53% cite managing money as the biggest financial stressor in a relationship, followed by having children (14%), buying a home (11%) and saving for retirement (10%);
- 71% say they know a great deal about their current or past partner’s finances;
- one-third of respondents in a relationship keep money in a joint account with their partner, while 33% keep money in separate accounts;
- discussing finances is a weekly occurrence for 26%, while 21% talk to their partner once a month and 28% only talk about the topic when an issue arises;
- 11% have ended a relationship for financial reasons;
- half of respondents require five or more dates with someone before discussing finances; and
- 50% have saved on their wedding — 48% of which were spenders and 52% of which were savers.