By: Andrea Updyke
A few years ago, my husband and I decided to create a pretty strict budget.
We wanted to pay down our student loans and be realistic about the fact that I was no longer bringing home a full-time salary. It was time to tighten the ol’ purse strings and it took a lot of planning. We did the usual things like cutting spending, canceling cable and other non-essentials, and saving a bit each month for emergencies.
One year, after a particularly costly Christmas, we realized we needed to add holiday spending into the budget. We knew that even saving just a few dollars a month would be better than having a big bill at the end of the year. We travel for the holidays every other year and it seemed like a no-brainer. I was doing a bit of freelance work here and there and we wanted to make the most of it. Of course, the only reason we were able to do this because we were on the same page.
According to a recent survey by McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union,
Not only do today’s couples experience anxiety over holiday shopping, many partners also lie to each other to cover up just how much they’ve spent or plan to spend.
From a sampling of over 1,000 couples in 3 different segments: married, same-sex and divorced but remarried/in-a-relationship, MHFCU found the following to be true:
- 48% of all heterosexual couples disagree with their partner on how much to spend during the holidays.
- 43% of divorced but remarried/in-a-relationship couples disagree with their partner’s spending. However, the percentage drops to 37% for same-sex couples.
- 34% of heterosexual couples have lied to their spouse about holiday spending, while 25% of divorced/remarried or in-a-relationship, and same-sex couples lie to their partner.
- More than 50% of married couples report paying with cash to cover up a large purchase and more than 1-in-10 has taken out a credit card in their own name to hide their spending.
- Same-sex couples are more likely to retrieve/pay a bill before a partner notices.
At first glance, these numbers seem pretty shocking to me. I mean, I know we are talking about the holidays and it is the season of giving. But when lying and deceit gets tangled up in the process the magic seems to dull a bit for me. Just like any other area in a marriage/relationship, people aren’t always honest with each other. In and of itself that is just too bad.
I am fortunate that my husband and I are on the same page when it comes to finances. But that is because we are intentional about our goals and how we are going to get there. If you aren’t in agreement, things can go downhill quickly.
Sourced from: http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/11182013-do-you-lie-to-your-spouse-about-holiday-spending/