She spends, he spends

According to a new survey from Capital One Financial Corp, 55% of couples surveyed have not yet discussed a budget with their partner or spouse for holiday shopping.

More than half (51%) say they have not set aside money to spend on holiday gifts. While not discussing budgets or setting aside money for gifts could lead to squabbles, 78% of people surveyed say they generally agree with their partner on how much to spend on holiday gifts. Alarger number of women admit they would like to spend more on gifts than their spouse.

“The holidays can be a hectic time, but it’s important that couples remember to talk to one another about their finances and set financial goals together during this season to prevent any added stress or disagreements,” Shelley Solheim, director of Financial Education at Capital One, said in a statement. “Holiday anxiety can take a toll on relationships, but there are steps couples can take together, such as deciding on a budget for gifts before going shopping, that will help ease financial tensions during the holidays and beyond.”

The findings reported in this release are from a telephone survey conducted by the opinion research firm, Braun Research of Princeton, N.J. Braun completed 806 interviews with U.S. resident adults age 18 and over who are in a marriage/relationship.

OTHER SURVEY FINDINGS
• The vast majority (93%) of those surveyed believe that their partner or spouse is open to discussing money issues.

• One quarter (25%) of people surveyed say they disagree with their partner about money monthly or more. Nearly one-third (29%) of respondents also report that they have argued with their partner about money in the last year.

• The survey found that younger people (18-34) are more prone to conflicts with their partner about money: 36% disagree with their partner about money monthly or more often, while 65% of those between 18-24 and 41% of those between 25-34 report that they have argued about money during the last 12 months.

• Also, 76% of those surveyed believe they share the same philosophy as their partner when it comes to managing money, such as saving versus spending. However, younger couples are less likely to believe this is true, with only 63% of those between 25-34 and 47%)of those between the ages of 18-24 feeling like they are on the same page as their partner financially.

• The survey found that 65% of couples report having the recommended 3-to-6 months emergency savings fund, though younger couples are less likely to have this much saved. Of those with less than 3-to-6 months saving, only 51% say they only have enough for one month or less.

• According to the survey, 16% of people don’t check with their partner before spending money.