I do – if your money is in order

Couples should discuss their financial situations before it’s too late, reports SOPHIE ELSWORTH

MANY couples are avoiding discussing their finances until well into their relationships – and often when it’s too late.

Bickering over finances can be a key driver to relationship breakdowns so it pays to put your financial status out in the open early on to avoid disputes down the track.

New research by Get Credit Score has found that 55 per cent of couples don’t start opening up to each other about their finances until they are living together or have exchanged wedding rings.

The research quizzed more than 1100 loved-up Australians and found nine out of 10 believed it was important their partner was good with cash.

Pivot Wealth financial adviser Ben Nash said couples often left it too late to find out the truth about how their other half dealt with money. “People tend to merge their finances, or think about merging them, when they have bigger life events like getting engaged or married,” he said.

“It’s generally worthwhile for people to have least discussed their finances earlier in the piece so they know where they stand.”

But Mr Nash said couples should hold off merging finances too early because “it can be problematic in the event of a marriage breakdown”.

Opposites often attract, so having a spender and a saver isn’t uncommon in a relationship. The key is compromise. Getting a credit score can also be a good way to find out the truth about someone’s financial situation.

This can be obtained for free from many websites, including getcredit score.com.au, where 1.5 million Australians have found out their financial position through a number between zero and 1200. MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2018 The score is calculated using information such as repayment history, bankruptcy, overdue debts, court judgments, and how often you’ve asked for credit. Consumer finance expert Lisa Montgomery said it was important to know your partner’s attitude towards money. “Most people who date tend to observe spending habits and pick up on things in conversation that may be related to spending habits and savings,” she said.

“Once a relationship is established and it looks like it’s going somewhere, often conversations will be deeper about the future and this includes money.”

Ms Montgomery said if your monetary habits did not align, “it can make it difficult and there’s where compromise does come in”.

She said there needed to be alignment with money attitudes, particularly if you were looking at tying the knot.

The survey also showed that one in three people argued with their partner over money.