Have you committed financial infidelity? You're not alone

FILE - An illustrative image of a person holding a credit card while shopping on-line on a computer. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Some would say it’s practical and others may say it’s lying. Where do you stand? 

A new survey revealed that out of 2,000 U.S. adults who are in committed relationships, 2 in 5 (40%) admitted to keeping financial secrets from their significant other, according to Bankrate. 

What is financial infidelity? 

Financial infidelity means a person who is in a committed relationship has one of the following that their partner does not know about: 

  • Secret expenses/overspending
  • Debt
  • Credit card
  • Checking or savings account

By the numbers:

  • 33% have spent or are spending more than their spouse or partner would be OK with.
  • 34% have both separate and joint accounts.
  • 27% keep a separate account.
  • 38% keep only a joint account.
  • 45% say financial infidelity is as bad as physical infidelity.

Secretly spending too much

The most common financial infidelity among committed couples is secretly spending more than what their partners may know about or would be OK with. 

Dig deeper:

One in 3 Americans (33%) who were in a committed relationship said they have spent (19%) or are spending (13%) more money than their spouses or partners would be OK with. 

Secret debts or past debts were also popular, followed by having secret credit cards and banking accounts, according to Bankrate. 

Gen Z most likely to have separate accounts

More than 3 in 5 Americans (62%) in committed relationships keep at least some of their money separate from one another. 

Fewer than 2 in 5 (38%) have exclusively joint accounts. 

What they're saying:

"My husband and I use the ‘yours, mine and ours’ method and have for 16 years," says Brooklyn Lowery, Bankrate senior editor. She and her husband each get $100 a month in their personal accounts to spend however they want, which they call their "mad money. 

More than half of Gen Z (67%) who are in committed relationships have some form of financial infidelity. 

Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) Gen Z couples have separate accounts, according to Bankrate. 

  • Millennial couples: 70%
  • Gen X couples: 59%
  • Boomer couples: 52%

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a Bankrate survey conducted between Dec. 9-11, 2024. This story was reported from Los Angeles. 

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