Why We Lie About Money And How To Stop Lying

A lot of couples staying together share everything from clothes to the entire home, except their finances. At some point, we have all lied and kept our finances a secret from our partners and spouses. Many men and women are unwilling to share information about their financial affairs with their partners.

Do you want to know why this happens? Well, there are a lot of reasons for this behavior. If the fear of financial infidelity is one reason, then power struggle regarding investing and handling finances might be another. Even potentially toxic relationships could play a major role in it. Head below to find more.

Lies Can Be Toxic

Financial infidelity is a basic and most common reason why your partner is so reluctant to share all the financial information you need to know. The majority of people have already experienced the same. But it can be very toxic at some point. Often, people funnel their monthly earnings into a separate account while technically relying on their partners to pay household bills. They continue this malicious practice until both are ready to end the marriage on mutual consent.

Sometimes, the family’s main earning members who take the onus to handle all the financial affairs and investment don’t believe in financial equality. As a result, they retain supreme control over financial liabilities, leaving their partners completely dependent on them. The hidden habits of gambling and the stress of loans might be the other reasons for it.

Lack Of Transparency Can Lead To A Lot Of Problems

According to a recent study, the credit card or bank account details of 15 million people remain a secret from their significant others. Many financial advisors believe that committing financial infidelities is like involving in a romantic affair. It just happens even if you don’t plan to it. But this often appears to be the major reason behind digging your own grave.

The hole gets deeper when people can’t work themselves out of it but keep on predicting that they can somehow get out of it over the years. By the time they finally give up, the situation becomes worse than ever. The partner who is not well-informed about the finances could fall prey to this situation. Hence, a lack of transparency is the key to putting an end to financial infidelity.

It Can Hurt More Than Adultery

Sometimes, financial infidelity hurts more than physical or emotional adultery. It can even break your financial backbone. Imagine yourself being cheated financially by your partner following an emotional heartbreak. Think of your partner, whom you can trust blindly, going out shopping and incurring a huge credit card bill without your consent.

After a break-up, your partner can sneak out with ease while you’ll be left behind to pay off those credit card loans on your own or be prepared to see your credit score going south. Lying about only a few hundred dollars can be a reason for potential long-term consequences.

How To Get Rid Of It?

Reports suggest that many couples don’t disclose their financial affairs to each other, including credit cards, savings, mortgage accounts, and even salaries. While managing your money seems to be a healthy practice because of its obvious privacy factor, this can also lead to stressed relationships.

So it’s important to sit down and talk about it before it goes out of your hand. Living together doesn’t only mean sharing love and care. It also suggests the equal distribution of financial liabilities. You don’t have to manage every penny together, but limiting access to the information might pave the way for financial infidelities.

Managing your money on your own is certainly not bad. To some extent, you got to do the needful to protect your inheritance or build a saving for your own. Of course, you don’t want to see yourself in an economically dire situation when your spouse moves out.

But in a healthy relationship, it’s of utmost importance to layout basic financial goals for the future. From luxurious items to paying off foreclosure amounts — being open about your financial capability will eventually help each other stick together during hard times. Besides that, it also increases trust, which is the building block of every happy and successful relationship!