Valentine Deal-Breakers: Overspending and Debt Top List of Negatives

While money management isn’t the greatest first date topic, financial compatibility is a key ingredient in building a lasting romantic relationship. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, leading personal finance website GOBankingRates.com surveyed over 5,000 respondents to discover Americans’ biggest financial turn-offs when looking for a romantic partner.

The survey posed the question, “Which of the following are the most significant financial deal breakers for you in a relationship?” Respondents had the choice to select all of the following answers that applied. The percentages below are representative of the U.S. online population with a margin of error of 2 percent.

Respondents’ Answer Choices:

Overspending—37.6% Secretive about finances—35.9% Too much debt—32.6% Too cheap—19.8% Poor credit—18.2% Doesn’t make enough money—13.9%

“The biggest three financial deal breakers are about equally important to Americans — spending habits, debt and financial honesty,” said Elyssa Kirkham, the lead GOBankingRates reporter on the study. “These are things that the partner has direct control over and can readily change, but if left unaddressed, can cause some of the biggest issues in a relationship.”

Additional Insights:

Americans place more value on their partners’ money habits and transparency than their income levels or credit scores. While women have more financial deal breakers in number than men, men are significantly more concerned about their partner’s overspending habits than women at 27.2 percent compared with 20.2 percent. While older respondents are more likely to be worried about their partners’ debt, younger respondents are more likely to be turned off by a significant other who is too cheap.

To see the biggest financial deal breaker in your state, visit:
http://www.gobankingrates.com/personal-finance/biggest-relationship-financial-deal-breakers-state/

GOBankingRates surveyed 5,003 respondents from Dec. 30 to Jan. 1, 2016 using a Google Consumer Survey. The survey posed the query, “Which of the following are the most significant financial deal breakers for you in a relationship? (Choose those that apply)” and allowed respondents to choose “None of the above” or one or more of the following six responses, displayed in random order: (1) “doesn’t make enough money,” (2) “overspending,” (3) “poor credit,” (4) “secretive about finances,” (5) “too cheap,” or (6) “too much debt.” Analyses are based on all responses, excluding “none of the above” answers. For analyses related to age and gender, these findings only report on responses for which Google provided the relevant demographic information.

Payroll