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In terms of debt, which gender do you think has the most problems? Do men have more debt woes than women? Is it the other way around?
The Relationship Between Debt And Gender
As you will learn, when it comes to gaining and dealing with debt, women handle both of those things better on average than men do. This is a subject that deserves a much closer look. At the end of the day, financial issues continue to plague couples of all ages and backgrounds. It is estimated that 35% of adults bring credit card debt into their relationship, among other types of debt.
While it’s important to understand why men seem to have more issues with debt than women, it is important to keep in mind that financial issues of any kind can prove to be extremely problematic for the health of a relationship.
The Relationship Between Debt, Gender, And Everything Else
Studies show that men tend to carry more debt than women. Their mortgages tend to be higher, as well. Men also on average seem to get into more financial trouble than women. While your gender is not inherently going to determine which one of you in a relationship has more debt, certain aspects of an individual’s financial personality can be driven by gender.
Why are men on average taking on more debt than women? Why are men making poorer financial decisions than women? 42% of men in a recent poll were noted for bringing the bulk of credit card debt into a relationship, compared to 29% for women. Medical debt, student loan debt, mortgage debt, and car loan debt are the other types of debt that can be brought into a relationship.
Why do men seem to bring, on average, more debt to the table than their female counterparts?
Money Personalities
Here are some of the most important takeaways to keep in mind, in terms of how these various studies define our larger subject:
- One of the potential reasons as to why men accumulate more debt could involve a certain kind of financial bravado. It has been suggested that men will spend more simply to create the illusion that they are financially secure. This is particularly applied to the goal of making themselves appear as attractive as possible to women. It is also within this behavior that one can see a possible explanation as to why men take longer than women to seek financial assistance in some form or another.
- As we just mentioned, these studies also show that women are more likely than men to seek out assistance with debt and similar matters. For example, there is a decided split between men and women, when it comes to seeking outside help in managing debt. More women utilize services such as financial therapy and credit counseling than men. In terms of seeking out debt solutions, women tend to move in that direction earlier, as well.
- Who generally handles the bulk of the responsibilities related to the budget in a relationship? This is another arena that tends to find more women than men. Women not only tend to assume the responsibility of paying the bills but determining how to tackle ongoing expenses with what remains. By comparison, men seemingly prefer to have a more rounded idea of what’s going on with the budget. While they might be able to list the different expenses in a budget with their partner, they may not be able to say how much money is being allocated for each of those expenses.
To reiterate: This is not to say that men will definitively behave one way about money, while women can always be expected to act another way. Even with these studies, and the ability to make certain predictions based on those studies, no one can be explained completely by their relationship to certain statistical averages.
Nonetheless, by understanding certain behaviors that might be driven by gender, we can perhaps understand how to keep debt and other financial matters from ruining an otherwise thriving relationship.
Steps To Prevent Financial Issues In Relationships
If you are in a relationship, and considering a step to the next point, such as marriage, here are a few financial matters to keep in mind:
- Talking: before a casual relationship becomes something more serious, such as living together, or getting married, a complete understanding of each other’s financial backgrounds is a good idea. Savings, investments, one another’s credit reports, and salaries are all things that should be discussed.
- Define your goals: each of you should understand and respect one another’s financial goals.
- Share your dreams: a more serious relationship should involve discussing your dreams and how money will come into play.
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This content is sponsored by Uday Tank.
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