Canadians couples are averse to financial commitments. According to a new survey conducted by MooseMoney, a full 57% of Canadians would prefer to keep their finance either completely separate (18.8%) or mostly separate (38.2%) from their significant other. They also consider opening a joint account as a more serious commitment than moving in together (54%), and a full 18% of Canadians say they won't open a joint account for any reason.
How Canadian Couples Manage Their Money Together
Most Canadian couples prefer to keep their money in their own hands. The most popular setup is keeping personal accounts and using one joint account just for shared household bills, which sits at 38.2%. Meanwhile, 25.4% merge everything completely, 18.8% keep their cash completely separate, and 17.6% use their joint bank account for everything, but split their credit cards.
It seems Canadians view merging accounts as a point of no return. As a result, people wait for major legal milestones before making that move. Getting married is the top trigger at 34.5%, while 20.5% wait until they buy property together. Only 15.8% merge accounts when moving in, and 18.0% say they will never open a joint account under any circumstances.
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When asked about how spending should be split when partners earn different salaries, pooling all income into one pot is the top choice at 43.9%. Another 33.9% prefer a proportional split where each person pays a percentage based on their earnings. However, 17.7% of couples still insist on a strict 50/50 split regardless of income, while just 4.5% believe in relying on a single provider in that situation. The survey also revealed that wage gaps can create friction, with 23.7% of Canadians admitting they have felt pressured to spend beyond their means to keep up with a higher-earning partner.
Financial Unfaithfulness is Both Frowned Upon... and Rampant
Financial secrets are far more common than most people think. A total of 21% of women and 14% of men admit they maintain (or have maintained in the past) a secret bank account or credit card. This suggests that many Canadians want an emergency exit fund or simply a way to pay for stuff their partner would not approve of. For many couples, financial betrayals cut deeper than romantic ones. Indeed, a striking 39% of women and 29% of men state they would be more devastated if they discovered their partner had accumulated in secret a large debt than if they found out they were cheating.
For most Canadians, having hidden debts is a valid reason to call it quits. A full 78% of Canadians would consider ending a relationship over $500,000 or more in hidden debt. As you see in the infographic above, the amount of secret debt that are tolerable differ widely, with 11.4% of Canadians for which a secret debt between $0 and $1,000 would be enough for them to consider packing their bags. Meanwhile, 21.8% claim a secret debt is not a dealbreaker because "it's just money".
This survey was sponsored by The Get, the weekly newsletter powered by Neo Financial, a Canadian financial platform offering credit cards, savings accounts, chequing accounts, and, yes, joint chequing accounts.
