Money money money: young couples argue more about money

Money doesn't make you happy, no, because you can have explosive arguments about it. I sometimes think you should actually get lessons in this before you move in together, because without explanation you have to deal with someone who might have a completely different view on money. It's not surprising that there are often disputes over cents within a relationship.

ABN Amro wanted to know the details and had research done. What turns out? 19 percent of couples between 18 and 45 years old have had arguments about money. What am I saying? We even have more stress within the relationship over money than older couples. A logical explanation for this is that we spend more and larger amounts, such as on houses and children.

What are the financial disputes mainly about? The spending pattern of the partner comes first, then the groceries (?), and finally there is bickering over expenditures in and around the house. One in four even concerns themselves with their partner's spending. I must say that I only do this when a package arrives that isn't for me, but I am probably also the one to watch in this case in my household.

A rather funny and logical outcome of the research is that 1 in 5 respondents thinks that their partner makes nonsensical expenditures. Suddenly I think of my boyfriend who ordered an ingenious spray head for the garden hose from Wish (had to wait a hundred years, yes) that I didn't understand at all. While he was laughing hard at me this weekend when that one black dress turned out to be very low-cut. 

The solution? Budgeting, for which you can of course download all sorts of handy apps. Or wait until you have passed 45 years old, because afterwards everything seems to get better and happier.