‘It ruined Christmas’: How not to argue with your partner over money this festive season
Few times of year offer more opportunities for couples to argue than Christmas. Whose in-laws will you be visiting this year? Which group of friends will you go for a walk with on Boxing Day? And what are you going to do about New Year’s Eve? The potential for tension is vast, but perhaps no more so than when you start to involve finances.
Research by Monzo has found that couples argue about money roughly five times a month, with almost one third (30 per cent) of couples arguing more during the festive season. This makes sense – think about the many ways money can spark a rift around this time of year. Who are you buying (and not buying) presents for? Who is (and isn’t) sticking to the set budget? Who is giving the best gifts to whom? And so on.
Then consider the economic climate: last December, a poll of more than 2,033 adults in the UK by the charity Relate found that the cost of living crisis was “likely to be the main cause of arguments” over the festive season. The survey also found that more than a quarter of respondents (28 per cent) said they were avoiding hosting Christmas year due to the economy, while almost a quarter (22 per cent) said they wouldn’t be spending Christmas with their family because it was too expensive to travel. A quarter (25 per cent) had also taken on extra work or additional shifts to pay for Christmas rather than spending time with their family.
