Money and Relationships Survey

These surveys are part of the National Financial Educators Council Love & Money Month campaign. Each year during the month of February, we will provide new research and data that help us better understand the impact of money on our relationships; and offer resources to help others improve their relationships through financial empowerment.

The NFEC founded Love & Money Month to raise awareness about how finances can affect our loved ones and give people resources to support them toward healthier relationships and financial situations.

Survey: 1,484 Respondents between January 29th and February 2nd, 2021 were asked:

Who can you comfortably talk with about your personal finances?

Results:

48.1%

None of these

27.8%

Romantic Partner

10.1%

Parents / Guardians

8.9%

Siblings / Extended Family

5.1%

Friends / Co-workers

Past Results

So what impact does money have on your romantic relationships? The National Financial Educators Council was curious, so they asked 2,644 people across the U.S. survey questions related to money and relationships. The survey was conducted between February 6th – 8th 2018.  The goals of the surveys were to get a better understanding around these 4 areas.

Focused on 4 Main Areas

Impact of Finances

How people felt money affected their romantic relationships

Attraction

Whether individuals are attracted to financially similar people

Tone of Discussions

The general tone of financial conversations with our significant others

Ease of Discussions

The general ease of financial conversations with our significant others

Impact of Finances Results

How people felt money affected their romantic relationships.

“Money has affected my past and current romantic relationships mostly in a…”

Very Positive Way 10.3%
Somewhat Positive Way 14.4%
Neither Positive nor Negative Way 56.1%
Somewhat Negative Way 12.2%
Very Negative Way 6.9%

Attraction Results

Whether individuals are attracted to financially similar people.

“In my most recent romantic relationship, we shared money attitudes and habits that were…”

39.4%

Very Similar

26.7%

Somewhat Similar

9.8%

Neither Similar nor Different

11.6%

Somewhat Different

12.5%

Very Different

Tone of Discussions

The general tone of financial conversations with our significant others.

“In my past and current romantic relationships, discussions about money generally have had a…”

Very Positive Tone 24.7%
Somewhat Positive Tone 14.9%
Neutral Tone 40%
Somewhat Negative Tone 14.5%
Very Negative Tone 5.8%

Ease of Discussions

The general ease of financial conversations with our significant others.

“Talking about money with my partner in my most recent romantic relationship was…”

23.5%

Very Easy

29.4%

Somewhat Easy

8.2%

Neither Easy nor Difficult

28.2%

Somewhat Difficult

10.6%

Very Difficult

The impact of money is greater than just dollars and cents – it impacts many areas of our lives. These studies demonstrate that money is having a direct impact on people’s romantic relationships; unfortunately, for many respondents it is a negative impact. We encourage people to work toward a more secure financial future together and keep the lines of communication open when it comes to money.

Vince Shorb
NFEC, CEO

Media Contact

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