When you’re in a relationship, infidelity is a huge red flag. But what if it’s money your partner is being unfaithful with, rather than another person? Nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) in relationships admit they’re keeping a money-related secret from their S.O., according to a new survey from BankRate.
Their poll of more than 25-hundred U.S. adults reveals:
- More than a third (39%) of those with a partner confess to being financially unfaithful, 23% are currently keeping financial secrets and another 30% have done it in the past.
- And that’s a big problem as just over half (52%) of respondents say financial cheating is just as bad as physical cheating. And 12% say it’s even worse.
- Younger folks seem to be more inclined to keep financial secrets, as 29% of both Gen X and baby boomers admit they have, compared to 63% of Gen Z and 54% of millennials who have.
- The money-related cheating people are most likely to admit to are spending more money than their partner would be okay with (19%) and keeping a secret debt hidden (14%).
- Only 23% of couples keep their finances totally separate, 43% combine all finances and 34% have some combined accounts.
- Gen Z (43%) and millennials (31%) are more inclined to keep completely separate accounts from their partner, compared to 19% of Gen Xers and 18% of boomers.
- Households in the highest income brackets are least likely to have separate accounts, with just 16% of those earning between $80-thousand and $99-thousand and 19% of those earning $100-thousand or more having exclusively separate accounts.
Source: BankRate