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The financial benefits to getting married
Experts say married couples can qualify for better credit and better terms on their loans, among many other financial benefits.
A new survey reveals that love isn’t always about finding a romantic partner — many Americans are willing to hedge their bets by choosing partners with money to their name.
LendingTree surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 80 last month to analyze Americans’ perspectives on love and money.
Nearly 30% of Americans would marry for money
By the numbers:
The financial company found that 26% of unmarried Americans say they’d consider marrying someone primarily for financial stability. That was especially true among those with children younger than 18 (35%), six-figure earners (33%) and Gen Zers ages 18 to 29 (32%).
The survey found that many Americans weigh financial stability heavily in romance. (Credit: Getty Images)
Nearly half (49%) of all Americans surveyed also said the current economic climate has made their partners’ (or potential partners’) finances more important to them.
In addition, 9 in 10 (90%) Americans said financial security was at least somewhat important in a romantic relationship. And 60% said it was very important.
Nearly half of Americans surveyed wished their spouse were more financially secure
Dig deeper:
The data also found that many Americans wished their current partner were more financially secure.
Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) preferred a partner who earned more than they do, with women (35%) more likely to feel this way than men (22%).
Among those currently in a relationship, 46% said they wished their spouse or partner were more financially secure, led by parents of young kids (60%).
Meanwhile, 27% said someone having a lot of money makes them more romantically attractive, rising to 44% among Gen Zers.
RELATED: 1 in 4 couples wait until after marriage to discuss debt and financial issues, survey finds
What They’re Saying: Matt Schulz, a LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst, said no one should be surprised that people judge their partners, at least in part, by their debt level, credit score and overall financial stability.
"Fair or not, people can see those things as indicators of whether someone generally has it together in life," he said in a statement. "While that’s often unfair to the person who is financially struggling, it’s not unfair to expect them to discuss their finances with you as you progress in your relationship."
He added: "Open and honest discussion of money is a nonnegotiable thing when it comes to relationships, and an unwillingness to talk about it can be a far bigger red flag than some debt or a middling credit score."
Financial security may be keeping couples together
The survey also revealed that money may keep some unhappy couples stuck.
More than a quarter of Americans (28%) also said they’ve stayed in a relationship longer than they wanted due to financial reasons.
Schulz acknowledged that it can be terrifying to feel trapped in a relationship because of money.
"In many ways, financial stability is freedom," he continued. "It gives you the ability to take action to get yourself out of an unsatisfying or even unsafe relationship. That’s why I support both partners having at least some money that is just theirs. As much as we all would love to think that our marriage is going to be blissful and dreamy for our entire lives, that’s not the reality for millions of Americans. Having your own money means that if you feel you need to extricate yourself from a bad relationship, you can do it far more easily."
The Source: The information for this story was provided by LendingTree. This story was reported from Los Angeles.