Everyone knows it was hard to be alone during the pandemic. Being in a relationship is no picnic.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, many couples struggling with the current economic crisis will not celebrate as they usually do.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, 1 in 10 couples have been sent away, lost their jobs or reduced their hours, according to a recent report by TD Bank Love & Money.
As a result, two-thirds said they have difficulty achieving the major stages of life, such as marriage, buying a home and starting a family.
Despite record low mortgage rates, nearly 1 in 4 couples whose jobs were affected by Covid-19 had to delay the purchase of a home, TD Bank found – even though more couples opted to cohabit, or at least little to quarantine together in the last year. In December, TD Bank surveyed more than 1,700 married adults in an engaged or divorced relationship.
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Serious cash shortages, along with restrictions on Covid, have even affected meeting nights as well as other small romantic gestures.
Overall, Valentine’s Day gift spending this year will drop from a record $ 196.31 in 2020 to $ 164.76 on average per person, according to the National Retail Federation.
Expenditures for significant others have fallen the most, although consumers also intend to reduce the sweet treats for teachers, classmates, friends and colleagues, the federation found.
Of course, the amount of couples they intend to spend increases depending on how long they have been “officially Facebook”, according to a separate study by RetailMeNot.
While adults who have been dating for two years or more will spend $ 156 on Valentine’s Day this year, engaged couples will make up for it. $ 243, newlyweds will spend $ 317, and those who have been married for a decade or more plan to spend an average of $ 467.
Nearly four in 10 Americans say they plan to spend February 14 to save money, according to another LendingTree poll.
In addition, as more and more people withdraw discretionary spending, it also eliminates what is often a major point of contention in a relationship, said Mike Kinane, head of consumer deposits, products and payments at TD Bank.
It’s a classic relationship dilemma, but if one of you is inherently a saver and the other is a spendthrift, conflicts are likely to develop.
“This silver line creates a unique opportunity to educate couples about short-term money management and how they can maintain an open dialogue about finance, better positioning them to review their longer-term financial goals. when life returns to normal, ”Kinane said.
When it comes to spending, most people are guilty of a lack of transparency to some extent – another major source of relationship stress.
Being forced to face these extreme financial circumstances opens the door to frank and honest conversations about money, which bodes well for long-term relationships, Kinane added.
“Talking about finance seems to position couples well for future success,” Kinane said.
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