Based on a survey conducted by Starling Bank, three out of ten couples in the United Kingdom report that money is the main source of arguments. Parents (37%) and couples aged 45 to 54 are said to “have the most disagreements” (39%).
According to the study, couples who shared finances have less arguments over money compared to those who don’t (27% vs. 32%). The study “questioned 4,000 above 16s in the UK.””
The majority of those polled—50%—”have a joint account with their spouse (35%), someone in their family (8%), a close friend (3%) or a housemate (3%).”
Residents in Norwich, Nottingham, and Sheffield are far more likely to have joint bank accounts (54%) than those who reside in Brighton, where residents are not as likely to pool their financial resources with others.
After being together for about 3.5 years, most couples “decide to take the plunge and open jointly an account.”
Couples of the Gen Z (16–24) generation, however, “are quicker off the mark and typically open up a bank account in less than two years after getting together.”
Additionally, people are “more probable” to open joint bank accounts when they reach ages 25-34 (35%) when compared to 15% of 16- to 24-year-olds, implying that funds are often brought up as they make big life decisions like living in with a partner, purchasing a home, or starting a family.”
The most common justification for having a joint account is the goal of money management more equitable (33%), followed by making sure all shared expenses are covered (30%) and saving money for shared expenses (26%).
To demonstrate a greater level of commitment to one another is the primary motivation for pooling funds among one in five couples (20%).”
People “placed 51% of their combined monthly earnings into their shared bank accounts on average.”
According to the survey, 25% of respondents put 100% of their monthly income into a combined bank account, and another 48% put no less than 50% of their paychecks into a joint account.
Additionally, 27% of men put 100% of their salary into a joint account, according to the research as compared to 23% of women.
The person making the most money for the relationship normally contributes 53% of their salary to the joint account, while those making less do so on average by contributing 61%, demonstrating that regardless of individual income, partners are dividing bills and household expenses evenly.
The Starling Bank had “commissioned a comprehensive survey of 4,000 above 16s in the UK from the 15th and 20th February 2023,” according to a blog post.
Censuswide abides by the Market Research Society, which is founded on the ESOMAR principles, and hires members of that organization.
As previously mentioned, Starling Bank was established “to give people a more equitable, more sophisticated and human choice to the banks of the past.”
According to reports, it “offers child cards as well as personal, business, joint, euro, and dollar current accounts.”
Through its subsidiary Engine, Starling “provides a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) proposition, using its own proprietary platform that it uses to power its own bank.”