Faster move in
Broken Up says that they had been with their boyfriend for a little over a year before they decided to end it due to financial reasons. "Not being able to fully show up for each other while not having enough time together to recalibrate has made the past few months feel like something just isn’t quite working (something we’ve both acknowledged)," they wrote.
But other couples are doing the opposite: they’re moving in together within a short time period in order to save money.
Eighty percent of Gen Z and 76% of millennial respondents were significantly more likely to be persuaded by money and logistics when moving in with a romantic partner, according to a 2023 Realtor.com survey. Only 44% of Baby Boomers and 56% of Gen X feel the same way.
This may be due to the incredibly expensive rental market that young people currently face. When Boomers met their mates in 1980, iPropertyManagement says that the median rent was $243. Today, it’s $1,653, according to Redfin’s most recent numbers.
Though inflation will always increase rent prices, $243 in 2024 dollars only translates to $923.15, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index calculator.
The Realtor.com survey discovered that couples were smart to move in with each other. A fifth of them (20%) saved between $501 and $1,000 per month thanks to cohabitation.
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Read MoreWorse communication
Though money can have a positive impact on your relationship, it can also negatively impact it.
A recent study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology discovered that financial stress can often lead to worse communication between partners.
“... we found that when individuals experience high (vs. low) financial stress, they are less likely to communicate with their partner about finances due to greater anticipated conflict,” wrote the study’s authors, who are three professors at Yale and Cornell.
In a New York Times article about the study, financial therapist Aja Evans warns that not talking about money issues in a relationship can severely hurt your wallet.
“It’s a defense mechanism,” she said. “But with financial issues, the more you avoid it, the worse it gets.”
Personal finance celebrity Ramit Sethi told CNBC that a healthy relationship includes financial discussions. He recommends a monthly “rich life review” to discuss your joint and separate finances with your partner.
“One of the things that financially successful couples do is they talk about money regularly and proactively,” said Sethi.
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