By Breanna Himmelright
Amid pandemic uncertainty it’s no surprise British Columbians were stressed about finances the last 20 months – and a new poll suggests that’s translated to more couples talking dollars and cents than before.
According to a poll by banking institution RBC and released Oct. 15, 68 per cent of Canadian couples admitted to talking more about finances since the start of the pandemic, with 47 per cent saying finances were one of the biggest stressors in their relationship.
Dawn Tam, RBC’s Regional Financial Planning Consultant for B.C., says that couples have two main stressors as they start planning their life together: planning weddings and managing finances together.
“…Without having regular conversations about budgets and goals and what they would like to achieve, what we’re finding is that couples aren’t on the same page.”
In B.C., 52 per cent of those surveyed admitted to being stressed about finances. Of those, 33 per cent described the financial aspect of wedding planning to be stressful.
Thirty per cent said that conflicts arose from their partner having significantly higher wedding expenses in mind. Thirty per cent of men said their dream wedding was important regardless of the cost compared to 16 per cent of women.
Tam said that she recommended couples starting out on their journey together make a point of discussing their financial goals regularly.
“In B.C. we found that over one-third of couples found it hard to talk about finances with their partner,” Tam said, suggesting “money dates” once or twice a month to discuss financial goals.
“Then, if you’re still having trouble having that conversation with your spouse or to-be spouse, you can call on an expert.”
