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Tue 14 Feb, 2006 03:01 pm
Credit counts in love, survey says
Men are from Mars, women are from Deloitte & Touche.
That seems to be the conclusion of a new survey -- in time for Valentine's Day -- that found that men want a woman with a good sense of humor, while women prefer a guy who has a steady job and pays his bills on time.
"And they say money can't buy you love," said Judy Martindale, a financial planner in San Luis Obispo, Calif. "It's sort of a sad commentary."
The survey of 1,022 adults was commissioned by the Fair Isaac Corp., the company that generates the FICO scores used to rate personal creditworthiness.
The findings indicated that good credit wasn't important just for getting a loan, the company said, but for finding a mate as well. For example, both men and women said being financially responsible was more important than sexual compatibility when it came to sustaining a relationship.
At the same time, the survey found that spending a few frivolous dollars can advance the cause of romance. Buying four dozen roses "just because" was considered "wonderfully romantic" by 69 percent of respondents, as was being taken out to a nice meal by 94 percent.
Among other findings:
-- Whether your significant other has credit problems ranked fifth among the list of "must-know" facts before making a commitment. The other facts, in order, were whether the person was divorced or already married, had spent time in jail, had trouble making romantic commitments or liked to gamble.
-- For men, the most important qualities in a spouse were, in order: a good sense of humor, an ability to get along with his family, a steady job/good credit history (a tie for third place), desire for children and a good kisser.
-- Among women, the top qualities were a steady job, paying bills on time, a good sense of humor, an ability to get along with her family, desire for children and a clean driving record.
Well, I dunno if it's necessarily about money per se. I think it's a kind of a shorthand. The kind of guy who is able to keep a steady job and who pays his bills on time is much more likely to be trustworthy overall than one who doesn't/ can't. (Note that it was #3 for men's preferences, too...)
So a clean driving record counts for something, eh?
When I was a kid, my father used to tell me that when the milkman comes to the door, and asks for his money, he is not interested in how much that you love your husband.
I think that financial stability is extremely important in a husband. Even for career women, when they have children, the woman wants to know that the man is capable of supporting them. It IS also a matter of stability, and. If a person is capable of holding on to a decent job, and managing his money wisely, it is an indication of a whole spectrum of traits that are correlated with reliability.
I agree with what Soz and Phoenix says.
My older daughter, who is 25, keeps telling us how many young men in their 20s are so irresponsible and can't manage their money, never mind just so darn immature.
Re: Credit counts in love, survey says
I was a bit non-plussed by the results of the survey ... I mean, I know it's important, mostly in the way Soz describes, but ... financial reliability more important than sexual compatibility? Would one really want to live one's life with someone who's in the black on his bank account but wont ever understand what you want or need at night? The top qualities - I assume they were listed in sequence - are "a steady job, paying bills on time" before
anything else - and "a clean driving record" ranks in the top 6?
Weird.
Then again, this line suddenly struck out at me:
Reyn wrote:The survey of 1,022 adults was commissioned by the Fair Isaac Corp., the company that generates the FICO scores used to rate personal creditworthiness.
They wouldnt by any chance have an interest in acquiring poll results that come in handy to highlight the urgency of their products, right?
Commissioned polls, done against payments for commercial companies, tend to be notoriously unreliable..
Re: Credit counts in love, survey says
nimh wrote:Commissioned polls, done against payments for commercial companies, tend to be notoriously unreliable..
I think you bring up a good point. It isn't too uncommon to have a poll to verify what you already feel or know, especially if the survey was done in-person and in a group setting.
Re: Credit counts in love, survey says
Reyn wrote:It isn't too uncommon to have a poll to verify what you already feel or know
Or what you
want, even, if you've got enough money ...
I think I love you, how much did you make last year?
A lot of the most interesting people in history would have been knocked out as spouse potential by criteria such as these.
No money, no honey - it's that simple!
I suppose I should admit you are right much of the time, but solvency is not all there is.
I was just kidding, osso.
When you're young and in love - money is always secondary.
"Credit counts in love, survey says "
I'm screwed.
as the song goes :
'money makes the world go 'round'
I don't think that it has to do as much with the amount of the money that a person makes, but his financial stability. For instance, let's say that I were a young woman, looking for a mate. Everything else being equal, I would prefer a man of moderate means who budgeted his funds wisely, to a guy making a lot more money, but squandering it on either trifles or bad habits, like gambling.
I agree with Phoenix- it's not how big the paycheck is, it's how the guy uses it. :wink:
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