WASHINGTON—Financial issues, a topic that has been taboo among a majority of Americans for centuries, are still the leading cause for marital discord or breakup among couples. And the recent global recession, high unemployment rates, and record-setting foreclosure filings are not helping matters.
One-third of couples interviewed during a recent American Express Spending & Saving Tracker survey claimed that financial issues created more tensions in their relationship than anything else.
The majority of people prefer financial independence instead of dependence on a partner.
“Conversations about finances seem to be avoided like the plague by most couples,” stated Pamela Codispoti, senior vice president and general manager at American Express, in a statement. The American Express Co., a leading credit card issuer, sponsored the survey.
Close to half of the couples admitted to bickering about money issues. Most argue when one partner takes the other to task for overspending.
More than 90 percent of the couples don’t want to discuss financial issues for different reasons. Some have assigned financial responsibility to one partner, while others would rather say nothing than lie to the partner in order to keep the peace.
Among young professionals, around 75 percent said that they were dual-income households. This number dropped to a little more than half among the wealthy. Among the lower income people, a little more than one-third said that both partners worked, while the remainder responded that the women tended to stay home and take care of the family.
Among the dual-income couples, about three-fourths claimed that the male earned more than the female partner.
Role Reversal
“Not only is there a growing share of couples in which wives make more money than their husbands, but among all couples wives contribute a growing share of household income. This is true for all education groups,” according to a 2010 Pew Research Center report.
The Pew Research Center report stated that in 1970, 28 percent of husbands had a higher education than their wives, while 20 percent of wives had a higher education than their husbands. By 2007, only 19 percent of husbands had a higher education than their spouse, while 28 percent of wives were better educated than their husbands.
As women begin to provide for a greater portion of the couple’s expenses, they gain greater leverage in deciding financial expenditures. Research indicates that in such marriages, close to one-half of the women are the decision makers, a little more than one-fifth of the men still hold the dominant role concerning decisions, and the remainder are equally responsible for decisions.
The Pew report covers only the years from 1970 to 2007. The 2009 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that statistical information about dual-salary earning couples for the years beyond 2007 is not available and will not be available until the 2010 Census report is released.
“There is evidence from other research that women’s growing economic clout gives them more power within marriage,” Pew said.
Reality of Earning Gap
The news heralding that in dual-earning families many wives earn more than their husbands does not address the gender gap when it comes to similar positions held by men and women with similar or the same background in education and experience.
“Although women and their families are grappling with this tough economy around the country, there is not a single state where women have gained economic equality with men. In every state across the U.S., men earn more than women, impacting women across race, class, and occupation,” according to a study by the National Women’s Law Center.
In 2009, female earnings edged forward a little, but did not catch up with the loss during the 2008 market upheaval.
Between 1980 and 1994 the earning gap between males and females narrowed by close to 12 percent. This surge slowed down after 1994 to a little more than a 5 percent increase until 2009, the most recent statistics available.
“Since 1980 real wages for men have remained virtually unchanged, while women’s real earnings have increased across the same time period,” according to a 2009 study released in March 2010 by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Spending Patterns
“We may now be at a point when many consumers have taken stock of their financial situation and have a better handle on what their spending and saving plans are in the current economy,” said American Express’s Codispoti.
Codispoti suggested that consumers won’t go on as many spending sprees as before the financial meltdown, but despite prudent spending habits, “we are seeing some areas where people are willing to increase spending.”
Car maintenance was among the top priorities. While only 5 percent of people surveyed in 2008 were willing to spend money on car maintenance, 42 percent of respondents changed their mind in 2009, viewing it as a matter of greater urgency.
Next on the priority list was appearance. About half of those interviewed would improve their wardrobe, and almost the same amount of people were going to frequent a hair salon versus 18 percent a year ago.
Another recent American Express survey claims that travel plans are back on the agenda. Close to 90 percent of surveyed young professionals, 73 percent of the wealthier people, and a little over half of the lower income segment of society will go on a vacation.
Although not everyone will venture outside of the United States, 6 percent are planning to take a trip to the Caribbean, 5 percent to Canada, and 4 percent to Europe.
A number of travel surveys, including those from Embassy Suites Hotels and Ypartnership and Harrison Group, show that travelers are looking for value, discounted traveling, special offers, and especially a place where they can stay connected to their peers through Facebook or other such Internet sites.
“Although the ‘new resourcefulness’ of consumers suggests that value will remain in vogue when it comes to vacations for months to come ... to most consumers a vacation is truly a birthright ... even if it means they have to look a little harder and wait a little longer to find the right deal,” according to a June article on the Hospitality.net website.
