Talking openly about money isn’t a very ‘British’ thing to do – instead, we mumble about the state of the housing market then offer to buy everyone a round at the pub.
But when we do open up about the contents of our bank accounts, one in four of us is being dishonest about how much cash we have in there, according to new research.
Perhaps that isn’t surprising, as the study found a third of us have felt stress or anxiety about money in the last month – with 18-24-year-olds feeling it the most.
[Read More: Half of twenty-somethings have no savings: here are some good habits to get you started]
The poll of 2,806 adults by Lloyds Bank found a further 43% of Brits felt embarrassed to talk about their personal finances with family and friends – with the figure rising to more than half when you just asked under-45s.
Hiding finances with partners was common, too. Just under a quarter of us lie to our partners about money, with 14% lying about how much they have spent on a single item.
Not only are we being dishonest about what’s in our wallet, 11% of us are also lying to our partners about how much debt we have. This is despite 60% of us believing it is important to know our partner’s financial status before committing to them.
Skirting around the truth when it comes to cash doesn’t make for a smooth relationship, as 37% of us have argued with a partner about finances.
Perhaps we should be opening up more about what’s in our bank accounts, as three-fifths of respondents felt better when they talked about their money concerns.
Lloyds Bank’s spokesperson Catherine Kehoe added: “Whether you’re getting married or talking to your parents about their retirement plans, it’s good to talk about money.
“Being open about our finances can help avoid problems in the future.”