Business View - July 2015 17
“Many of us are taught from a young age that money
is a taboo topic of conversation, but when it comes
to romantic relationships, discussing finances needs
to happen sooner or later,” said Ryan Bailey, Head
of Deposit Products, Payments and Non-Real Estate
Lending at TD Bank. “Couples who are hesitant to talk
about money should be encouraged to see that doing
so could result in a happier relationship.
“Money can be the elephant in the room, but many
Americans—and millennials in particular—are trying
to relieve the tension,” said Bailey. “When arguments
arise related to things like overspending, having an
open discussion about budgeting and aligning on how
to divide or share their finances is important.”
Millennial Couples Talk – And Fight – More About
Money
• Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of millennials
(ages 18-34) in relationships talk about money with
their significant other at least once per week, com-
pared with only 61 percent of all survey respondents
• More than a third of millennials in relationships (36
percent) fight about money at least once per week,
compared with 15 percent of gen Xers (ages 35-54)
and 7 percent of baby boomers (ages 55+).
• Eighty-three percent of millennials believe their sig-
nificant other overspends in some way, compared with
only 63 percent of all respondents.
LGBT Couples Approach Money Differently
• Fifty-seven percent of respondents who identify
as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender said talking
about money and finances is “very important” to a
happy relationship, compared to 72 percent of non-
LGBT respondents.
• Forty-five percent of LGBT Americans in relation-
ships talk about money with their significant other at
least once a week, compared with 63 percent of non-
LGBT respondents.
• Almost half of LGBT survey respondents (49 percent)
started talking about money with their partner before
they started living together or got engaged, compared
with 37 percent of non-LGBT respondents.
Women and Men Aren’t On the Same Financial Page
• Women find talking about money more important to
a happy relationship than men do: 75 percent of fe-
male respondents feel that it’s “very important,” com-
pared to 67 percent of male respondents.
• Four out of five respondents state they make big fi-
nancial decisions with their significant other, but men
are almost twice as likely as women to say that they
are the decision maker (26 percent of men vs. 14 per-
cent of women).
• Women in relationships with children are more likely
than men to say that they are the one that spoils their
kids with money (42 percent of women vs. 28 percent
of men).
