Before you settle down and live happily ever after, there are some important conversations you need to have with your partner. You need to know each other’s life goals as well as each other’s financial situations and habits, but it seems a lot of couples aren’t going there with the money talk. In fact, new research finds a third of couples don’t even talk about finances until after they’re married.
That can be especially problematic since it turns out, people do have dealbreakers when it comes to money and potential partners. To learn more about them, Western & Southern Financial Group asked more than a thousand married Americans about their finances and money issues that can make or break relationships. Their survey reveals:
- 63.6% of respondents have never talked about debt with their spouse. Of those who have, 27% discussed debt before any other financial topic.
- Financial topics people wish they talked about with their spouse sooner include salary (29.5%), investments (27%) and savings goals (24%).
- The biggest financial dealbreakers are salary and student loan debt. Respondents want their partners to earn a minimum of $29,878, which is well below the average salary in the U.S. which is $37,522. Owing more than $28,076 in student loan debt is also a dealbreaker, and that amount is below the average amount of student loan debt someone with a bachelor’s degree has, which is $37,574.
- Men tend to be a little more forgiving of debt than women, the survey shows. For the fellas, $31,179 is a deal breaking amount of debt, while for women that number is $22,901.
- The financial topics that have led to the most fights for couples include spending habits (36.9%), investments (34.6%), salary (33.2%), and buying property together (30.5%)
- Millennial couples surveyed fight the most about spending habits.
- Women are 29% more likely than men to have their own separate savings account.