| By :
Molly Wider
Couples fight about lots of things, and according to a recent survey, they fight most about money. But they're not fighting about debt, even though Canadians are now deeper in debt doo-doo than ever before. What 86% of couples are fighting about is how they spend their money, according to a recent survey from Credit Canada and Capital One Canada. In fact, how money gets spent is a much more contentious issue than how much debt a couple has-more than twice as many spouses, 48%, argue about how money is spent than the 24% that argue about their total debt load. And the survey results get even more surprising. Nearly one in five men, and more than one in five women, have actually hidden their debts from their mates. But lying about money isn't all that troubles couples and their debts these days. Couples worry when they cannot stick to their budgets. Who doesn't? More than 50% reported they were kept awake at night worrying they couldn't stay with the budgets they had set, and 37% have lain awake worrying about their finances in general. At the same time, one in four couples worrying about their finances had still not reduced their spending because of the recession. What does this tell us, as Canadian couples? We need to talk to each other about our spending habits, and our comfort with debt loads, and reach some agreement about how our we'll pool and spend our resources-before we spend it. Here are a few tips that may help resolve some of the debt tension in your household: * Have a frank discussion about money management-before you move in together
* Agree that each partner has a veto on any single purchase
* Agree how much each person can spend without consultation
* Decide how debts will be paid down-then help each other stick to the budget
* Keep a household account, even if your personal chequing accounts are separate, to pay rents, bills, and even save for vacations
* Get a credit check every year-that way, no one can hide their spending
* Make a savings and investment plan, and stick to it
* Even if one person takes the lead in managing finances and paying bills, the other person should be informed about the financial situation The good news is very few Canadian couples think their money worries will result in divorce. It shouldn't-his bad credit rating doesn't affect hers, or vice versa. So even if your partner has bad credit habits, it will only affect you if you have signed on to that new credit card, in-store credit line, line of credit or other credit source.
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