Helping married clients gets tricky if spouses aren’t transparent about their finances. And, in some cases, spouses might be outright deceitful with one another.
In fact, more than one-third of Canadians (36%) say they’ve been victims of financial infidelity from a current or former partner, finds a survey commissioned by Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) and Credit Canada. These respondents tend to be younger (18-54 rather than 55 or older) or single.
Those who say they’ve been victims are also more likely to have lied to a romantic partner about financial matters, and to have kept financial secrets from their current romantic partner (51% apiece), says the survey.
The top offences are running up a credit card balance (14% of respondents) and not contributing enough financially, based on income (13%).
A BDO Canada survey likewise finds that the most common thing partners hide from each other is credit card debt.
Read: Now’s a good time for that debt discussion
For those in a relationship, the FPSC and Credit Canada survey finds that 36% admit they’ve lied about a financial matter to a partner, and 34% admit to keeping financial secrets from a partner.
There were no significant differences between women and men when it comes to being a victim of financial infidelity (35% of men versus 37% of women), lying about a financial matter (36% of both) or keeping financial secrets from partners (35% of men versus 34% of women).
Nor do household income levels play a role in financial infidelity, finds the survey. However, a lack of communication might: the BDO survey finds that 36% of those in a relationship rarely or never discuss personal finances with their partner.
Read the full survey.
Read: How small talk can reveal planning opportunities
About the survey: Leger conducted a survey of 1,550 Canadians between Jan. 2 and Jan. 5, 2018, using its online panel, LegerWeb. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
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