Everyone knows it is difficult to be single during the pandemic. Being in a relationship isn’t easy either.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, many couples struggling with the current economic crisis will not celebrate the way they usually do.
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, 1 in 10 couples were on leave, lost their job or their hours were cut, according to TD Bank’s recent Love & Money report.
As a result, two-thirds said they find it difficult to reach life’s most important milestones, such as getting married, buying a house, and starting a family.
Despite record low mortgage rates, nearly 1 in 4 couples whose jobs were affected by Covid-19 had to delay buying a home, TD Bank found – even as more couples chose to live together or at least quarantine together. going last year. In December, TD Bank surveyed more than 1,700 adults who were married, in a committed relationship or divorced.
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Serious cash shortages, along with Covid-related restrictions, have even taken their toll on date nights and other little romantic gestures.
Overall, spending on Valentine’s Day gifts will drop from a record $ 196.31 in 2020 to $ 164.76 on average per person this year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Spending on significant others saw the greatest decline, although consumers also plan to cut back on sweet treats for teachers, classmates, friends and colleagues, the federation found.
Of course, according to a separate study by RetailMeNot, the amount couples plan to spend will increase depending on how long they’ve been “officially on Facebook.”
While adults who have been dating for two years or more will spend $ 156 on Valentine’s Day this year, engaged couples will be handing it out $ 243, newlyweds will spend $ 317 and those who have been married for ten years or more plan to spend an average of $ 467.
According to another LendingTree survey, nearly 4 in 10 Americans said they plan to skip Feb. 14 altogether to save money.
On the bright side, as more people fall back on their discretionary spending, they also eliminate 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 dilemma in the relationship, but if one of you is inherently a saver and the other a spender, conflict is likely to arise.
“This silver liner creates a unique opportunity to teach couples how to manage their money in the short term and how to maintain an open dialogue about finances, better positioned to rethink their longer term financial goals when life returns to normal, ”says Kinane said.
When it comes to spending, most people are guilty to some degree of lack of transparency – another major source of relationship stress.
Being forced to face these extreme financial conditions opens the door to fair and honest conversations about money, boding well for long-term relationships, Kinane added.
“Talking about finances seems to position couples well for future success,” Kinane said.
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