About 98 per cent of married couples in Canada think it is important to be on the same page financially as their partner, a new study suggests. Yet 43 per cent of married couples said they had different investing styles than their spouses.
The survey released on Thursday by BMO Wealth Planning Group also found that about one-quarter of couples fight over money.
“Getting married is not just sweetness and flowers. It`s like you`re a team together and you carry responsibility toward each other, toward the children and toward the people around you,” said Jean Richard, vice-president and senior consultant of wealth management at BMO.
Less than half the engaged couples polled say they have talked about bank balances, credit card debt and spending habits.
The topics married people wished they had discussed include:
- Establishing emergency funds for unexpected expenses (28 per cent).
- Identifying personal short- and long-term financial goals (25 per cent).
- How to manage everyday household finances (24 per cent).
- Creating and updating a will (19 per cent).
The results are based on an online survey of 1,000 Canadians, conducted by Pollara between May 27 and 28. A probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to ± 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
With files from CBC.