Stashing a few hundred dollar bills away for a couples trip to your favorite Air BnB is not what you would consider “hiding assets.” A marriage is a partnership. The expectation between two people in that union is that they share everything. Well, unfortunately, that is not always the case. It is estimated that more than 15 million people are hiding credit cards, checking accounts or savings from their live-in partners according to a study done by Bankrate. The financial services company found that hiding assets can have the same devastating effect as being unfaithful to your partner.
It is an age thing
Millennials are the best at keeping secrets it seems as a staggering 31% admit to having a secret account. Members of Generation X experienced hands-off parenting and rising divorce rates which has to lead many to be skeptical of relationships. Perhaps that can account for why they fall second on the list at 24% saying they have been financially dishonest. This number is still significantly higher than the 17% of Baby Boomers who claim to have not told the truth about money to their partner.
If they lie about money, where does it stop?
For 31% of people in the study, they agreed that cheating physically was not as wrong as cheating financially. This phenomenon tends to be especially true in situations where one partner makes less than the other. The less money you make, the more likely you are to feel financial infidelity would be more painful than an unfaithful partner.
Honesty is one of the traits that supports a good relationship. Infidelity is not limited to your emotional connection; you need to be truthful with your partner about everything.