Money woes break hearts for 1 in 4 couples

Many Singaporeans find it hard to open up about money matters, according to MoneySmart.

Money is the root of all heartaches for about 1 in 4 adults in Singapore, according to a study by MoneySmart.

Of 1,000 Singaporean adults surveyed, 27% said that they broke up with their partner due to disagreements about money.

The share is higher in Hong Kong, where 34% of the 1,000 Hong Kongers surveyed broke up over money woes.

Spending too much money was the top reason for breaking up, with 43% of all adults in the two cities citing this. Differences in saving habits (37%), and not saving enough (32%) followed. 

Almost 1 in 5 (18%) said that they and their partner argue more about money than anything else.

There’s a way to break the cycle though: transparency.

Almost 8 in 10 (78%) believe that open discussions about money strengthen their relationship. In fact, over 1 in 2 (56%) said that they found that frequent money talks improved their relationship quality. 

Almost half (49%) of respondents said that they would consider their partner dishonest if they lied about their finances, income or debts, and 35% going as far as to say that they would never forgive their partner for doing so.

Unfortunately, being open about money matters still comes hard for Singaporeans and Hong Kongers.

A third (33%) stated that they find it difficult to discuss finances with their partner, whilst over a quarter (29%) actively avoided such conversations. 

Whilst 29% admitted to holding savings accounts that their partner was unaware of, 23% admitted to having debt their partner didn't know about. 

Over 1 in 3 (34%) said that they experience anxiety when discussing money with their partner.