Poll Uncovers Financial Dishonesty in Committed Relationships
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (PRWEB) June 18, 2014 -- A recent Lexington Law survey, conducted on their behalf by Harris Poll, has provided some insight into American attitudes toward honesty and disclosure when it comes to sharing financial information with their romantic partners. The study, held in late May, polled over 2,000 American adults, ages 18 and older. Dating, engaged and married Americans answered questions about when to reveal financial information — and even when to lie about it.
The poll revealed that nearly a third (29%) of Americans have lied or would consider lying to a partner about their finances. They had a variety of justifications for the ruse, including that their relationships weren’t that serious, that the financial issues in question also weren’t that serious, or that the matters were simply of no concern to their partners. The younger the respondents, the more likely they were to lie: Americans aged 18-54 were the most likely to lie compared to their older counterparts.
And Americans were not quick to open up about their financial situations. Only a third (36%) of Americans believe that people should share information about their finances with their partners within the first five months of dating. Most (60%) believe that couples should date for at least 6 months before sharing, and that only debts over $5,000 are worth discussing.
The survey did provide some hope, though: 70% of Americans believed in trusting their partners enough to have open financial discussions. But a cautionary note to women who disclose: the poll revealed that men are more likely to choose money over love and are more likely to believe that it’s acceptable to date women for their money (12% vs. 7% respectively). This wasn’t true of female respondents. Women were more likely than men to choose love over money.
The only thing that Americans seemed to agree on was that they all appreciated their partner picking up the tab once in a while. A majority said it was somewhat important that their partners pay the tab on occasion, and 26% said this is “extremely/very important.”
“Our survey revealed that Americans should not necessarily expect openness from their partners about finances,” stated John Heath, Directing Attorney for Lexington Law, “and they should be downright skeptical about whether they are getting the whole truth.
“With a third of Americans openly admitting that they either lie or would lie, it pays to be wary,” Heath added.
xxx
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Lexington Law from March 11-13, 2014 among 2,037 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Celeste Edmunds at [email protected].
About Lexington Law
Lexington Law is a consumer advocacy law firm with 21 years of experience helping hundreds of thousands of Americans work to improve their credit. They are among the largest network of credit repair professionals in the U.S., employing a growing staff of 24 attorneys and 200+ paralegals/agents across 19 states. The firm empowers credit success through effective services which leverage consumers’ rights to legally resolve issues with credit bureaus and creditors. Lexington works to ensure that its clients’ credit reports are a fair and accurate representation of their true creditworthiness. For details about Lexington Law’s services, attorneys, or statistics visit: http://www.lexingtonlaw.com.
About Nielsen & The Harris Poll
On February 3, 2014, Nielsen acquired Harris Interactive and The Harris Poll. Nielsen Holdings N.V. is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit http://www.nielsen.com
Celeste Edmunds, PR Coordinator, Lexington Law, http://www.lexingtonlaw.com/, +1 (801) 657-9088, [email protected]
Share this article