Money woes break hearts for 1 in 3 couples: survey
Spending too much money and differences in saving habits were the top dealbreakers.
Money is the root of all heartaches for about 1 in 3 adults in Hong Kong, according to a study by MoneySmart.
Of 1,000 adults surveyed in Hong Kong, 34% of the 1,000 Hong Kongers said that they split with their partner over money woes.
The figure is slightly lower in Singapore, where 27% of 1,000 adults surveyed said the same.
Spending too much money was the top reason for breaking up, with 43% of all adults from Hong Kong and Singapore citing this.
Differences in saving habits (37%), and not saving enough (32%) followed.
Almost 1 in 5 (18%) said that they and their partner argue more about money than anything else.
There’s a way to break the cycle though: transparency.
Almost 8 in 10 (78%) of the adults surveyed believe that open discussions about money strengthen their relationship.
In fact, over 1 in 2 (56%) said that they found that frequent money talks improved their relationship quality.
Almost half (49%) of respondents said that they would consider their partner dishonest if they lied about their finances, income or debts, and 35% going as far as to say that they would never forgive their partner for doing so.
Unfortunately, being open about money matters still comes hard for Singaporeans and Hong Kongers.
A third (33%) stated that they find it difficult to discuss finances with their partner, whilst over a quarter (29%) actively avoided such conversations.
Whilst 29% admitted to holding savings accounts that their partner was unaware of, 23% admitted to having debt their partner didn't know about.
Over 1 in 3 (34%) said that they experience anxiety when discussing money with their partner.