Having an affair isn’t the only way to ruin your relationship. More than half of Americans think cheating on a partner financially is just as bad or worse than the physical act, according to a new poll.
Such transgressions include keeping financial accounts and behavior secret from a significant other. This includes spending more than a partner would be comfortable with, having secret debts, using an undisclosed credit card, and having a hidden checking or savings account.
According to YouGov Plc’s survey for CreditCards.com, nearly a third of Americans who are married, in a civil partnership or living with a partner admitted to having committed some form of financial infidelity.
While harsh perceptions of financial infidelity have remained largely the same during the pandemic, the survey suggests American couples have become more honest about their finances. With people spending more time at home with their partners than ever before, only 32% of respondents currently admitted to financial fraud, compared to 44% in 2020.
“All that togetherness and fewer temptations to go out and spend has probably reduced the level of financial secrecy,” said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com. “Sometimes financial fraud goes hand in hand with physical fraud.”
Although money is often a major source of stress in a relationship — and a major cause of divorce — it’s also an issue many couples try to avoid. About 31% of adults who admitted to financial cheating said it happened because their finances just never materialized or they never felt the need to share them. A whopping 30% said they did so to gain some privacy from their partner. And 25% said they keep their finances secret because they’re embarrassed about how they spend their money.
The survey also found that financial fraud is more common among younger couples. About 61% of Gen Zers and 48% of Millennials in committed relationships said they were guilty of financial infidelity. Meanwhile, just 28% of Gen Xers and 19% of Baby Boomers said they keep financial secrets from their significant other.
Rossman thinks Gen Z and Millennial couples’ reluctance to share details about their finances may be because many are still in the early stages of their relationships. However, he believes their higher rates of financial secrecy indicate a larger trend: almost a third of all respondents who have cheated financially did so out of “a desire for control”. [their] finances.”
This desire, he noted, may be due to the fact that many Gen Zers and Millennials live in dual-income households. They are also more likely to be children of divorce.
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