Couples whose marriages seem perfect from outside are often blindsided with the revelation that their spouses have been unfaithful - as long as their finances were concerned.
This is nothing rare. One partner has been found lying in every three couples according to a survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education in 2014. Moreover, a whopping 76% of those surveyed admitted that financial deception has negatively affected their conjugal lives.
So that you don’t experience such a menace in your happy married life, here are five ways to find out if your spouse is financially faithful or not.
1) He or she avoids financial confrontations
Your spouse never discusses financial matters with you. He or she avoids or changes the topic whenever you try to talk about financial matters. If he or she avoids such a topic, you should presume that his or her financial footing isn’t sound enough. He or she may be a victim of reckless spending that he or she doesn’t want to disclose. See if you spouse always keeps his or her financial details away from your reach. If yes, it’s a red flag.
2) He or she never includes you as a user in credit card
Does he or she does the same? If yes, there are reasons to worry about. What is he or she trying to hide from you? Does he or she not trust you? Or, are there any financial habits of your spouse that he or she doesn’t want you to know? Your spouse might have debts that he or she has been owing since ages and even before your marriage.
Read more: Tips to protect your spouse from making any financial mistakes
3) Your spouse isn’t interested in a joint savings account
This is weird. Isn’t it? This reveals either your spouse doesn’t trust you with money, or he/she is having some kind of problem with his/her finances. Joint bank accounts make lives easier since either of you can operate without explicit written permission of another. In addition, operating a single account saves both of your time and energy that you can use on something else.
4) Your spouse borrows money all the time
Does your spouse borrow money all the time and even from you? If he/she is unemployed, it’s okay. But if he/she is employed and borrows money from everybody out there every other month, there must be something fishy and which he/she is hiding from you. Transparency and respect are key for any successful marriage.
5) Your spouse lies you about bill payments
Does he or she lies to you about bills payments? If yes, this is a sign that he isn’t financially faithful. He or she may be hiding critical financial information from you which can ruin your relationship if exposed. Alternatively, he or she may be also trying to hide as unable to make a payment on time is an issue of reputation to him or her. Whatever, this is a red flag.
See also - Parental divorce: 10 Financial lessons I learnt the hard way
