Credit Score as Relationship Predictor

[omni550]

A new working paper (PDF) published by the US Federal Reserve Board finds that the higher your credit score, the higher your chances of a lasting relationship.

Also, "...if the difference between a couple’s individual credit scores is greater than 66 points at the start of the relationship, the couple is 24% more likely to split up within the second, third, or fourth year of the relationship."

What your credit score says about your love life - Quartz

omni

 

[rodi]

This makes sense. Money is one of the leading stressers on a marriage. If you have different views on bills/savings/spending.... it can cause discord in a marriage. And the spend to the edge person is likely to have a worse credit score than the party that is prudent about paying bills and having a savings buffer.

I've observed this with friends.... If one was a big spender, and the other a saver... the marriage didn't last.

 

[omni550]

Maybe there needs to be a space added to online dating sites:

Height......
Eye color.....
Credit score.....

omni

 

[FI by 2024]

Maybe there needs to be a space added to online dating sites:

Height......
Eye color.....
Credit score.....

omni

If credit score was added, I might be willing to use those sites. Previous experiences with them did not turn out well

I didn't read the paper, but I have always thought similarity of views on personal finance were a key indicator of compatibility. It's very difficult to make a relationship work when financial views are different because finances drive so much of what you do and how you live.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Senator]

I use credit score as a MAJOR indicator for my rental criteria. Most often, couples are within ~20 points of each other.

People with a sub-600 score generally have behavioral issues.

There is definitely a link to a low score and a more interesting criminal record. People with a 700+ credit score are boring. People with a sub-600 score have a lot more 'stuff'.

And I do not care about all the other great attributes of the person; if the score is low, I stay away and decline them. It's not worth it.

I would suspect that it is the same in the dating world, but worse. All the domestic incidents I have had were a low-scoring male (sub-500), with a higher (650+) scoring female.

 

[Walt34]

I've observed this with friends.... If one was a big spender, and the other a saver... the marriage didn't last.

Yup, I learned that the hard way.

If anything, DW is a bit more "financially conservative" than I am. And the last time we looked, our credit scores were within 20 points of each other. Hmmm... maybe that's part of why we've been married 27 years.

 

[utrecht]

People with high credit scores take care of their responsibilities, they are more grounded, more trustworthy and in general probably care more about the future than living in the moment. It makes sense that these people are also better at keeping a long term relationship.

 

[omni550]

It sounds like a discussion of one's credit score is perhaps now becoming more acceptable/common during early dating.

But, as far as a business model, the 2 credit-related dating sites referenced -- one has no members and the other doesn't even exist three years after this article was written.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/business/even-cupid-wants-to-know-your-credit-score.html?hp&_r=1&

omni

 

[Olbidness]

The woman that I had been seeing up until recently owns multiple houses, and drives an expensive foreign car. She informed me months into the relationship that she had declared bankruptcy in her recent past.

She made the statement once that she had nothing saved for retirement and had talked to a financial planner and was told to stop spending so much and start saving. She said " I just don't want to do that right now". There were many other red flags I was seeing, but as long as we weren't married it didn't affect me.

Anyway she kicked me to the curb because among other things I wasn't "exciting enough" . Although she wanted to remain "friends" I just said "no thanks".

 

[omni550]

The woman that I had been seeing up until recently owns multiple houses, and drives an expensive foreign car. She informed me months into the relationship that she had declared bankruptcy in her recent past.

She made the statement once that she had nothing saved for retirement and had talked to a financial planner and was told to stop spending so much and start saving. She said " I just don't want to do that right now". There were many other red flags I was seeing, but as long as we weren't married it didn't affect me.

Anyway she kicked me to the curb because among other things I wasn't "exciting enough" . Although she wanted to remain "friends" I just said "no thanks".

Lots of red flags there. Sounds like you dodged a bullet.

omni

 

[razztazz]

The woman that I had been seeing up until recently owns multiple houses, and drives an expensive foreign car. She informed me months into the relationship that she had declared bankruptcy in her recent past.

She made the statement once that she had nothing saved for retirement and had talked to a financial planner and was told to stop spending so much and start saving. She said " I just don't want to do that right now". There were many other red flags I was seeing, but as long as we weren't married it didn't affect me.

Anyway she kicked me to the curb because among other things I wasn't "exciting enough" . Although she wanted to remain "friends" I just said "no thanks".

Welcome to my world. "Not exciting enough." What a crock. See, it's real easy for some people to just whip out an endless list of excuses on the fly or out of their rolodex of excuses. These kinds of people are mostly just looking for a second paycheck to help defray expenses. Now that would be "exciting" I guess.

 

[karen1972]

A new working paper (PDF) published by the US Federal Reserve Board finds that the higher your credit score, the higher your chances of a lasting relationship.

Also, "...if the difference between a couple’s individual credit scores is greater than 66 points at the start of the relationship, the couple is 24% more likely to split up within the second, third, or fourth year of the relationship."

What your credit score says about your love life - Quartz

omni

Well my honey and I beat the odds (A 815 w/ a 540). The difference is I understood how he got to 540 (Divorce, medical crisis, failing business (self-employed), and ADD which wasn't being medicated due to lack of insurance). Once I got him on insurance and he took his prescription it was like night and day, landed a steady job, paid the bills, stopped getting traffic violations, stopped getting fines on his accounts, and he's now at about 750 and has a ROTH IRA and savings.

The difference is I understood what was driving the issues he was having and it wasn't easy to fix, but it was something that could be worked on. I could have easily passed him by and likely would have had I not had back injury.. which made me sympathetic to his plight and he helped me out a lot during a time I needed someone. Its one of those things though that I think drives lots of people's issues ... many mental illnesses are left untreated and drive all sorts of bad behavior which is NOT healthy for relationships. Especially things like depression where people spend to be happy vs. address their real issue. The real question is does the person recognize they need help. If they want to get help and just don't have the means or support that's one thing but if the person is in denial or just doesn't want to get help .. then avoid like the plague. I know lots of bipolars on both sides of those spectrums, some that are in great relationships and many that don't take their meds and are a nightmare to be around... those are the ones that attract the people that want "excitement" in their life.. oh boy.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Good for you, Karen. It takes something special to see the good person under all that baggage and know that just a little help can go a long way.

My DH always said he'd be living under a bridge if it weren't for me guiding our finances!

And I've helped some friends out with their credit issues who just needed a little direction and follow up to get back on the path. Those of us with innate skills in this area can forget that not everyone was born with the same talents.

 

[tmm99]

The woman that I had been seeing up until recently owns multiple houses, and drives an expensive foreign car. She informed me months into the relationship that she had declared bankruptcy in her recent past.

She made the statement once that she had nothing saved for retirement and had talked to a financial planner and was told to stop spending so much and start saving. She said " I just don't want to do that right now". There were many other red flags I was seeing, but as long as we weren't married it didn't affect me.

Anyway she kicked me to the curb because among other things I wasn't "exciting enough" . Although she wanted to remain "friends" I just said "no thanks".

A statement like that (in bold) gets me every time. Anybody can just do whatever they well please all the time - We just have to deal with that consequences. Someone likes this should be locked up instead of being able to declare bankruptcy.

 

[tmm99]

If I were single and looking for a serious relationship, I would not keep on dating someone with low FICO scores (I imagine you could sort of tell by the way the person spends money around you...)

 

[Islandtraveler]

Maybe those with a higher credit score are to cheap to get divorced. It's cheaper to keep her!

 

[Bamaman]

When I started dating my wife in 1981, the first thing when I got serious was pull a Credit Bureau Report on her. I had a Chilton/Equifax CBR terminal sitting next to my desk. She had an empty report--little or no credit ever used.

At the same time, my Medical Technologist girlfriend pulled out a syringe and drew blood. She performed a complete blood chemistry panel on me to see how healthy I was. She told me I needed to slow down the beer drinking as it was showing up in my numbers. She didn't want to waste her time on someone with potential bad health.

And we're still together--34 years later.

 

[tmm99]

When I started dating my wife in 1981, the first thing when I got serious was pull a Credit Bureau Report on her. I had a Chilton/Equifax CBR terminal sitting next to my desk. She had an empty report--little or no credit ever used.

At the same time, my Medical Technologist girlfriend pulled out a syringe and drew blood. She performed a complete blood chemistry panel on me to see how healthy I was. She told me I needed to slow down the beer drinking as it was showing up in my numbers. She didn't want to waste her time on someone with potential bad health.

And we're still together--34 years later.

You are still together so I imagine you curved your drinking habits!

I am not a drinker (neither is my DH), but what numbers get affected by drinking? Just curious...

 

[ERD50]

... was told to stop spending so much and start saving. She said " I just don't want to do that right now". ...

Anyway she kicked me to the curb because among other things I wasn't "exciting enough" . ...

I would have said "OK, let's do some exciting, expensive things! And since you like spending - your treat!"

Could'a been fun until her money (credit) ran out? Then time for you to move on, she was no longer exciting enough!

-ERD50

 

[Texas Proud]

I use credit score as a MAJOR indicator for my rental criteria. Most often, couples are within ~20 points of each other.

People with a sub-600 score generally have behavioral issues.

There is definitely a link to a low score and a more interesting criminal record. People with a 700+ credit score are boring. People with a sub-600 score have a lot more 'stuff'.

And I do not care about all the other great attributes of the person; if the score is low, I stay away and decline them. It's not worth it.

I would suspect that it is the same in the dating world, but worse. All the domestic incidents I have had were a low-scoring male (sub-500), with a higher (650+) scoring female.

I would not be surprised that married couples have close to the same score.... more than likely it is due to one of them making sure the bills are paid etc. etc....


I know that my DW has a score over 800, but her income and spending habits could not support that high of a score...

 

[Olbidness]

I would have said "OK, let's do some exciting, expensive things! And since you like spending - your treat!"

Could'a been fun until her money (credit) ran out? Then time for you to move on, she was no longer exciting enough!

-ERD50

She was plenty exciting. IRS Audit, Civil Court case, Major health problems with no insurance. I don't want to be that exciting.

I do think it's critical to be on the same page about finances but by the time you know all the gory details like credit score it's too late. A more reliable guide is how they manage their life. Everyone has a run of bad luck but at some point it all boils down to bad decisions.

 

[Danmar]

This makes perfect sense to me. After I left my first wife in 1992 my girlfriend (who became wife #2) was instrumental in helping me financially over the first few years. Don't think I could have done it without her. I had a lot of baggage but she said it was worth it.

 

[athena53]

I would not be surprised that married couples have close to the same score.... more than likely it is due to one of them making sure the bills are paid etc. etc....

Yeah. my Ex had an awful credit score when we met. When I started taking over the bill-paying, I'd just tell him what his share was, he'd grumble at me and accuse me of exaggerating and write a check, and I paid everything on time.

In the end, though, it just improved his credit so he could get more cards to max out.

I have no idea what current DH's score was but we dated for 6 years before we married. I had plenty of time to see how he managed his finances and, while he had little savings, he had zero debt except for a mortgage on his house. Our credit scores may have been pretty close even though I made about twice what he did; our philosophies about money were similar and that was what was important. We've been happily married for 12 years so far!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I too have an ex that was terrible with money. After the second date with my current (and wonderful!) DW, we agreed to share our credit reports if we made it to the 3 month point. We did share them with each other and are still together 10 years later...I couldn't be happier!

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[omni550]

After the second date with my current (and wonderful!) DW, we agreed to share our credit reports if we made it to the 3 month point. We did share them with each other and are still together 10 years later...I couldn't be happier!

What a great idea and testimony that it works!

omni