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Arizona couples who have been married for a while — and even many newlyweds — know that honesty is a bedrock foundation of marriage. While perhaps everyone has little secrets they do not divulge, keeping secrets around financial issues can frequently lead to resentment — and, in serious cases — lead to a divorce.
How often does this play a part? It’s tough to say definitively, but one study conducted recently says that among people who used a hidden credit card without telling their spouse, as many as 10 percent got separated or divorced as a result of the deception.
Not surprisingly, people kept purchases secret because of how they thought their partners would react. Just over one-third said their spouses would be angry; another third said their spouses would not approve of the purchases. These weren’t always things that could be considered vanity purchases, either. About half of the people surveyed said that their secret spending was on living expenses such as gas, food or housing.
Another surprising finding was that men who had hidden credit cards spent more on average than did women who did. However, overall, women were more likely to hide purchases from their husbands and said they felt more guilty about it than men who did the same thing.
It may very well be that dishonesty about finances is an indicator of greater dishonesty in a relationship. People in Arizona contemplating a divorce might find some useful advice by consulting with an experienced family law attorney.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Secret Credit Card Spending And Divorce Linked In New Survey,” Oct. 14, 2013
