Majority of Finnish couples have joint finances
Researcher: Agreeing on division of finances avoids many quarrels
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A majority of Finnish couples living under the same roof also share their finances.
In all, 64 per cent of respondents to a poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup explain that in cohabitation, apart from personal property, also finances are shared. The results were virtually identical both in rural areas and in cities.
Having shared finances was more common among older couples. Of students cohabiting with a partner, 46% have entered into shared finances. Among pensioners the corresponding figure is 72%.
”Today, the younger generation keep their finances separate for longer than before, even when living together”, says Professor Terhi-Anna Wilska of Turku School of Economics, who has studied Finnish families’ use of money.
“Having children or buying a home is generally the ultimate reason for people to enter into shared economy.”
Also in the HS gallup, the larger the family, the likelier the shared finances.
With the elderly couples, often only one of the partners had enjoyed a long professional career. Therefore it is common that there is only one purse, Wilska ponders.
Social status also has an effect on a couple’s view on shared finances.
The larger the income or the higher the level of education, the more common it is that partners keep at least some of their earnings to themselves.
In Wilska’s view the result is natural.
“When there is less money, its usage has to be planned carefully within the family. Out of a larger income, some can be spared for personal use.”
“It is also a question of equality”, Wilska points out. In the study it was noted that especially well-to-do and well-educated women wanted to keep some of their earnings to themselves.
What Wilska sees as a problem is that Finnish couples do not clearly agree on the use of money. Statistics reveal that in addition to housework financial matters are the most common reasons for quarrelling in Finnish families.
“Drawing up a clear contract could prevent many arguments”, Wilska says.
“Now many couples simply slide into certain habits in their usage of money.”
In the use of bank accounts these habits become concrete.
A fifth of Finnish couples with children have a joint bank account, reveals a study from last year by the National Consumer Research Centre. A quarter have separate bank accounts with a shared right of use to both of them. A third of couples with children have totally separate bank accounts.
Common-law parents keep their bank accounts separate more often than married couples with children. Also in "new" so-called blended family households, the finances are often kept separate.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 8.9.2008 - TODAY |
 Majority of Finnish couples have joint finances |
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