How couples think about money: Types of money motives and relationship satisfaction

Abstract

Two studies examined how financial values held by romantic partners were linked with relationship satisfaction. Across a sample of married individuals (N = 628), and a dyadic sample (N = 236), results suggest that holding or perceiving a romantic partner to hold integrated money motives—wanting to earn money to feel pride, establish one's worth, facilitate freedom, and enrich leisure activities—was linked with better relationship satisfaction. Holding or perceiving a romantic partner to hold nonintegrated money motives—wanting to earn money to enable impulse spending, to feel better than others, and to overcome self-doubt—was linked with worse relationship satisfaction. In both samples, perceived similarity in money motives between the self and the partner was also linked to higher relationship satisfaction. Study 2 further showed that actual similarity between partners in nonintegrated money motives was also linked to better relationship satisfaction, suggesting that even nonintegrated money motives might benefit relationships, as long as both partners share these motives. Overall, these studies suggest that while holding similar financial values as your partner is linked with better relationships, some financial values are more conducive to relationship satisfaction than others.