Divorce Lawyer: Survey Finds 1 in 10 Divorces Precipitated At Least In Part By Secret Credit Card Spending
According to a new survey, one out of 10 recent divorcees cited secret credit card spending as a reason for their marriage ending.
In a way, this is not too surprising. As a divorce lawyer, I have helped many Massachusetts clients move on from marriages that are not healthy or are not working. In many of those cases, the marriage was falling apart because the husband and wife had different ideas about money.
Even so, this study adds some nuance to that truism about divorce. Specifically, it found that among the 1,000 men and women polled:
- 36 percent concealed their credit card spending because they thought it would make their spouse angry.
- 35 percent hid their credit card use because they thought their spouse would "disapprove." We take that to mean they fibbed because they didn't want to feel ashamed, rather than concealed their spending to avoid making their partner angry.
- Women were 60 percent more likely to hide their spending from their partner, but it was actually men who spent more on average. That speaks to differing opinions on what sort of expenses each sex thought should be hidden.
This study builds on other work that shows that money often causes a rift in marriages, such as a July 2013 study from Kansas State University that found that fighting about money was a leading predictor of divorce.
If you are considering ending your marriage, for financial reasons or otherwise, a conversation with a family law attorney would be a great place to start. Please feel free to contact me at any time.
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