More money, more PROBLEMS?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Finances can be …touchy. ESPECIALLY in relationships! Some couples combine their money, while others keep it separate. How do they decide?
Enter Michelle Kruger and team from the University of Georgia.
Researchers surveyed a demographic range of over six hundred married or cohabitating adults. They asked how the couples managed their money. Like, who works, and who makes financial decisions?
Results? People with college degrees were over fifty percent LESS likely to pool finances. Same thing if both partners worked. Married couples were over four times MORE likely to pool their money. Same for families with kids. However, most key was communication. Pairs that agreed on spending were over TWICE as likely to combine finances.
The researchers believe understanding demographics and money can help couples better manage their approach!
So… when in doubt, talk it out! Because “Money talks, B-S walks.”
Reference:
Kruger, M., Grable, J. E., Palmer, L., & Goetz, J. (2023). Factors Associated with Couples Pooling their Finances. Contemporary Family Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-023-09666-9