A husband wants to know he can trust his wife. This means not only does he want to trust that she will remain faithful, but also that she will never hide or lie about any aspect of their lives together. This expectation includes being honest about finances.
As it turns out though, not all are always 100 percent honest when it comes to spending. In fact, in a recent poll of 1,000 men and women, 36 percent admitted to lying about their spending by hiding certain credit card purchases from their significant other. The majority admitted the lying was either because they knew their husbands or wives would get mad about the purchases or that their spouses would disapprove of the purchases.
When looking at this study — and the fact that so many spouses admitted to hiding credit card purchases — it is important to note these charges are not always related to frivolous items. In fact, 50 percent of those who admitted to lying about spending said they used their credit cards to pay for living expenses, such as food, gasoline or utility bills.
Only 50 percent said they used their credit cards to buy things like new clothes and shoes.
According to the poll, both men and women were guilty of charging items behind their significant other’s back. But, on average, men tended to spend more when making these secret purchases.
It should come as no surprise, but this type of spending behavior can end up leading to serious rifts in a marriage. In some cases, it can even lead to divorce. In fact, according to the same poll, of those asked, one in ten people said hidden credit card purchases played a role in their reason for divorce or separation.
Source: Huffington Post, “Secret Credit Card Spending And Divorce Linked In New Survey,” Oct. 14, 2013
