Everyone knows that it has been difficult to stay single during the pandemic. Being in a relationship is also not a picnic.
With Valentine’s Day approaching, many couples struggling with the current economic crisis will not celebrate as they usually do.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, 1 in 10 couples have been on leave, lost their jobs or had their hours cut, according to TD Bank’s recent Love & Money report.
As a result, two-thirds said they were finding it difficult to reach the major milestones in life, such as getting married, buying a house and starting a family.
Despite record low mortgage rates, almost 1 in 4 couples whose jobs were affected by Covid-19 had to postpone buying a home, TD Bank found – even with more couples choosing to cohabit, or at least quarantine together, last year. In December, TD Bank interviewed more than 1,700 adults who are married, in a serious relationship or divorced.
More from Personal Finance:
Children’s tax credit proposals can give families more money
Most older adults remain unvaccinated
Was it vaccinated? You may want to keep this for yourself
Serious cash deficits, along with Covid-related restrictions, affected even date nights, as well as other small romantic gestures.
Overall, spending on Valentine’s Day gifts this year is expected to drop from a record high of $ 196.31 in 2020 to an average of $ 164.76 per person, according to the National Retail Federation.
Spending on other significant people has seen the biggest drop, although consumers also plan to cut candy for teachers, colleagues, friends and co-workers, the federation found.
Of course, the amount that couples plan to spend increases depending on how long they are “Facebook officials”, according to a separate study by RetailMeNot.
While adults who have been dating for two years or more will spend $ 156 on Valentine’s Day this year, the bride and groom will pay $ 243, newlyweds will spend $ 317 and those who have been married for a decade or more are planning to spend $ 467 on average.
Nearly 4 out of 10 Americans said they plan to skip February 14 to save money, according to another LendingTree survey.
On the bright side, as more people cut discretionary spending, they also eliminate what is often a major point of contention in a relationship, said Mike Kinane, head of deposits, products and payments at TD Bank.
It is a classic relationship dilemma, but if one of you is inherently a saver and the other is a spender, the conflict is likely to develop.
“This silver lining creates a unique opportunity to educate couples on how to manage their money in the short term and how they can maintain an open dialogue about finance, positioning them better to revisit their long-term financial goals when life returns to normal. “said Kinane. said.
When it comes to spending, most people are guilty of lack of transparency to some extent – another major source of relationship stress.
Being forced to face these extreme financial circumstances head-on opens the door to frank and honest talks about money, which bodes well for long-term relationships, added Kinane.
“Talking about finance seems to position couples well for future success,” said Kinane.
Sign up for CNBC on YouTube.